Real Madrid file a complaint against referee
REAL Madrid have confirmed that they have filed an official complaint against referee Juan Martinez Munuera for “voluntarily and deliberately” ignoring insults and abuse targeted towards star winger Vinicius Jr.
Vinicius has been the subject of constant jeers within the Spanish football environment over the past few weeks.
The Brazilian has been particularly targeted by Barcelona as well as Atletico Madrid supporters and the story was no different when Real Madrid took on Osasuna.
Why did Real Madrid complain?
Vinicius had a contrasting experience during the game against Osasuna. On one side, he shined with a sensational double.
On the flip side, he faced offensive insults hurled from the El Sadar stands, captured vividly by cameras, including chants of “Vinicius, d*e!”.
These incidents were duly reported by La Liga. Despite warnings from Real Madrid players, the referee, Munuera, did not document this behaviour in the match report. Nevertheless, Real Madrid staunchly defended their player in response.
“After the serious insults uttered, once again, against our player Vinicius Junior, in this case during the last League match played by our team at El Sadar, Real Madrid CF communicates the following,” read a statement from club. “Our club has filed a complaint with the Disciplinary Committee of the Royal Spanish Football Federation against the match referee Juan Martínez Munuera, as a result of the negligent drafting of the referee's report.
“This referee voluntarily and deliberately omitted the insults and humiliating shouts repeatedly directed towards our player Vinicius Junior, despite being warned insistently by our players at the same time they were occurring.
“In addition, Real Madrid has also filed a complaint with this federative body in relation to the aforementioned insults and humiliating shouts, and has forwarded them to the State Commission against Violence, Racism, Xenophobia and Intolerance in the Sports, so that those who uttered them are identified and punished,” the statement read. Interestingly enough, Vinicius received a yellow card for his protest against the official, which will lead him to miss the next league match since it was his fifth caution of the season.