Real Madrid filed a hate crime complaint with Spanish prosecutors after Vinicius Jr was targeted for racist abuse during an away game against Valencia.
Madrid’s match against Valencia was halted on Sunday night after halftime when the 22-year-old Brazilian pointed out supporters were taunting him to the referee.
Vinicius, who has been repeatedly subjected to racism in the stands this season, was furious, prompting teammates and opponents to try to calm him down at Valencia’s Mestalla.
The Brazilian was then sent off for violent behavior in injury time during the team’s 0-1 loss after a collision with Valencia striker Hugo Duro – the first red card of his career. his.
French striker Kylian Mbappe led messages of support for Vinicius.
He wrote in an Instagram post: “You are not alone. We are with you and we support you.”
The 24-year-old Paris Saint-Germain star has been targeted with racist abuse after France lost to Argentina in the World Cup final last year.
His message of support came after former England and Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand, an anti-racism campaigner, posted on Instagram: “(Vinicius) received a red card after being strangled. and was racially abused during the match.
“How many more times do we have to see this young man suffer like this?? I feel pain, I feel disgusted, I feel he needs help… and the authorities don’t do it. * to help him.
“Everyone needs to come together and demand more from the authorities that run our game.
“Nobody deserves this but you are allowing it.
“There needs to be a unified approach to this or it will get caught in the carpet AGAIN.”
Regarding Vinicius Jr’s red card, Match Of The Day host and former England striker Gary Lineker tweeted: “Once again, the abused player is the only one punished.”
FIFAPresident Gianni Infantino also expressed his support for Vinicius and said in a statement: “Totally unite with Vinicius. There is no place for racism in football or in society and FIFA stands. on the part of all the players facing such a situation.”
In a statement on Instagram after the game, Vinicius addressed previous instances of racist abuse and accused Spain’s football governing bodies of not doing enough.
“It’s not the first time, it’s not the second and it’s not the third. Racism is normal in La Liga,” he said.
“The competition is considered normal, the league and the opponent’s cheers are the same, I’m sorry.”
‘La Liga belongs to the racists’
Vinicius said the Spanish league once “belonged” to star players like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, now “belongs to racists”.
“Sorry for the Spaniards who disagree, but today, in Brazil, Spain is known as a country of racists,” he added.
“And unfortunately, with everything going on every week, I have no excuse. I agree.”
Meanwhile, La Liga president Javier Tebas accused Vinicius of twice failing to come to meetings to discuss what could be done “in the event of racism”.
Mr Tebas wrote: “Before criticizing and insulting La Liga, you need to properly report Vinicius Jr.”
Vinicius responded: “Once again, instead of criticizing the racists, the president of La Liga appeared on social media to attack me.”
He added that he wanted to “take action and punish” those who made racist chants.
Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti had earlier backed his player after the game, saying La Liga “has a problem” with racism.
‘Can’t allow racism to be a part of life’
The Italian strategist said that the referee should have stopped the game due to “unacceptable” exhortations aimed at Vinicius.
“The whole stadium is insulting one player with racist chants, and the game has to be stopped,” he added.
Ancelotti also wrote on Twitter: “Today was a sad day at Mestalla, where a group of fans showed their worst version.
“It’s time to stop talking and acting forcefully. Racism has no place in football or in society. RACISM ANYWHERE IS NOT DIFFERENT.”
However, Valencia director Javier Solis said that Ancelotti was wrong to blame all the fans for the abuse.
He said: “In light of Mr Ancelotti’s regrettable and completely inaccurate statements in which he considers all the fans at Mestalla to be racist, the club cannot condone this. .
“We refuted these complaints directly. Maybe it was the result of a mistake in the language and he must have understood a different word when it was spoken.
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“The club condemns any form of racist insults and is working to identify those accused of gestures or actions, but calls all Valencia CF fans racist. Race is meaningless and the club cannot remain silent.”
Meanwhile, Luis Rubiales, head of Spain’s national football federation (RFEF), said the country has a problem of racism.
Brazilian President Lula da Silva was among those who condemned Vinicius’ treatment on Sunday.
Speaking at a news conference on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Japan, he called on FIFA and La Liga to “take measures so that we don’t allow racism and fascism to dominate.” ” this sport.
The chairman said Vinicius, considered one of the best young players in the world, was “insulted in every stadium he went to”.
Investigative Oath Club
La Liga released its own statement, saying it had “struggling against this kind of behavior for many years”.
Valencia also posted a statement on the club’s website, pledging to investigate what happened and “take the most severe measures”.
“Valencia CF wishes to publicly condemn any form of insult, assault or disqualification in football,” it added.
Around 46,000 supporters attended Sunday’s match, which saw Valencia rise to 13th in the standings and Madrid remain third – 14 points behind arch-rivals and Barcelona champion.
Diego Lopez got the only goal of the game in the 33rd minute for the home team.
