Real Madrid attacker Vinicius Jr was subjected to racist chanting during his team’s defeat to Valencia at Estadio Mestalla on Sunday.
This happened in the second half, and Vinicius pointed out a fan in the stands for the alleged racial abuse. La Liga TV broadcasters said there was an announcement in the stadium calling on fans to not insult the players or throw objects onto the pitch.
Referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea confirmed the racial abuse in his match report:
“Racist insults: in the 73rd minute, a spectator from the southern ‘Mario Kempes’ tribune directed himself towards player No. 20 of Real Madrid CF Mr. Vinicius José De Oliveira Do Nascimiento, screaming at him: ‘Monkey, monkey’ which led to the activation of the racism protocol [..].” Ricardo’s report reads in part.
Later, Vinicius was sent off in the final minutes of the game for his involvement in an altercation with Valencia’s Hugo Duro.
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti was fuming about the incident as he told reporters in the post-match address that there is something bad happening in La Liga.
“I don’t want to talk about football today. When a whole stadium is chanting ‘monkey’ at a player and the manager has to think about taking off a player because of it, there is something bad happening in this league.
“I’m very sad because La Liga is a league with big teams with a good atmosphere. This we have to get rid of. We are in 2023, racism does not have to exist, the only way for me is to stop the game.” Ancelotti said, as quoted by CNN Sport.
Vinicius took to his social media platforms Instagram and Twitter to express his disappointment and blamed it all on La Liga authorities, saying that racism is “normal” in La Liga.
“The prize that racists won was my expulsion! ‘This isn’t football, this is @LaLiga,” Vinicius posted on Instagram.
“It was not the first time, nor the second, nor the third. Racism is normal in La Liga. The competition thinks it’s normal, the Federation does too and the opponents encourage it. I’m so sorry. The championship that once belonged to Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Cristiano and Messi today belongs to racists.” Vinicius’ tweet partly reads.
This is not the first time Vinicius has faced racism in Lal Liga. The Brazilian also received the same treatment after dancing as he celebrated his goal against Real Mallorca in September last year.
