‘Racism is normal in La Liga’… Vinicius Junior targeted with insults and sent off during Real Madrid match in Valencia

Vinicius Junior continues to work on Spanish soil. During his Real Madrid’s match in Valencia (lost 1-0) on Sunday 21 May, the Brazilian striker complained that he had been the target of racist insults uttered by an opposing fan. The latter explained to the referee that he had been treated like “mono” (monkey in Spanish).

As tensions built between the players of both teams, with just minutes remaining in a crucial match for the Merengues’ European future and the club’s survival in Che’s top flight, Vinicius was finally sent off after a slap in the face from Hugo Hard, in the midst of a scuffle.

“We all support Vinicius”

“If we insult a ‘monkey’ player and the coach has to think about taking him off or not, there’s a problem”denounced Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti after the match. “This league has a problem with racism. The game has to be stopped, there is no other option.” The Italian also revealed that his striker no longer wanted to continue playing on the pitch.

Several of Vinicius’ teammates also came to defend him. “Vinicius is despised and disrespected in every stadium in Spain. We have to protect him. We can’t go on like this”railed Dani Ceballos into the microphone of the Spanish channel Movistar. “If Vinicius had told me he didn’t want to play anymore because of the insults, I would have followed him and walked off the pitch with him. We all support Vinicius.” assured for his part, the goalkeeper of the team, Thibaut Courtois.

Vinicius Junior himself reacted on his social networks after the meeting. “With my expulsion, the racists have won. It’s not football, it’s La Liga”first wrote the latter in an Instagram story.

“I will go all the way against racists, even if it is far from here”

Then, he wrote a long message on Twitter in which he targeted La Liga clubs and the Spanish Football Federation: “Racism is normal in La Liga. The competition thinks it is normal, so the federation and the opponents encourage it. The league that once belonged to Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Cristiano and Messi now belongs to racists. Spain is a beautiful country, who welcomed me and whom I love. I’m sorry for the Spaniards who don’t agree, but today, in Brazil, Spain is known as a country of racists (…). I am strong and I will go all the way against the racists, even if it’s far from here.”

It is at least the sixth time this season that racist insults have been heard in the stadiums of Spanish clubs that face Real Madrid at home, after Girona (April 26), Mallorca (February 5), Valladolid (December 30), before the Atlético match de Madrid (September 18) and during the Clasico in Barcelona (March 19).

Since 2021, La Liga has opened nine investigations into racist insults against Vinicius. In a press release shared Sunday evening, he announced the opening of a new investigation, based on “all images available” of the accident.