Brazilian striker Vinicius Junior, from Real Madrid, was the victim of yet another racist action in a Spanish stadium this Sunday afternoon (21). During his team’s 1-0 defeat by Valencia at the Mestalla Stadium, home of the opponents, Vini heard racist insults and shouts of ‘monkey’ coming from the stands. The game was stopped for about eight minutes and, later, the player was expelled for being involved in confusion. The bid that gave rise to the episode happened at 29 of the second stage. Playing in a hostile environment, Vinicius Junior tried to play from the left when a second ball that had been thrown onto the field moments before was kicked by Eray Cömert, an athlete from Valencia, on purpose to interrupt the throw. At that moment, Vini addressed the part of the Valencian crowd that was located behind the local team’s goal and pointed at fans who insulted him by calling him a monkey. Referee De Burgos Bengoetxea stopped the match and the public address system warned that the game would only resume if the offenses stopped. Vini signaled that he was fine to return and the game continued after approximately eight minutes of pause, with the police attending the scene of the offenses. In the match’s extra time, Vini got involved in a mess with goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili and, after being restrained by opponent Hugo Duro with a tie, hit the Valencia athlete’s face when trying to break free. In the end, only the Brazilian was punished, being expelled. Vinicius Junior left making gestures showing the number two with his hand, in provocation to the Valencia fans. The club fights not to fall to the Spanish second division. After the match, the figures involved manifested themselves on social networks. On his Instagram account, Vinicius Junior said that the racists were rewarded with his expulsion and joked: “It’s not football, it’s La Liga (Spain’s football league)” Valencia issued a statement saying that although it was an “episode isolated”, there is no place for insults of this kind in football. The note also reiterates that the facts are being investigated by the club. There was also a statement from the Spanish league, which claimed to have requested all the images of the match to better investigate what happened and that it is also attentive to possible offenses to the Brazilian outside the Mestalla stadium. Also in the note from La Liga, it is said that complaints of racist practices against Vinicius Junior were presented on nine other occasions in the last two years. In the press conference after the game, the coach of Real Madrid, the Italian Carlo Ancelotti, was disgusted and incredulous with the event. “I don’t want to talk about football, but about what happened here. This cannot happen, an entire stadium screaming something like that. He didn’t want to continue and I would think it’s fair because he’s the victim. This cannot happen”, Ancelotti opined.
Agência Brasil
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