'Football is joy. It's a dance' - Pele sends message to Vinicius Jr amid racial abuse over his dance celebration

An unexpected wave of criticism and even racist remarks poured over Vinicius Junior. And it's all because of the way he celebrates goals. Some players, fans and even La Liga officials have felt that him dancing is disrespectful.

But dancing celebrations are nothing new in football, the likes of Neymar and Ronaldinho have used it over their careers. And now, a lot of people are coming out in support of Vini, with one of them being all-time great, Pele.

"Football is joy. It’s a dance. It’s more than that. It’s a real party. Although, unfortunately, racism still exists, we will not allow that to stop us from continuing to smile. And we will continue to fight racism every day in this way: fighting for our right to be happy and respected. #BailaViniJr" - the legendary Brazilian wrote on Instagram.

The "BailaViniJr" hashtag in support of Vinicius has been gaining momentum on social media lately.