LA LIGA BELONGS TO RACISTS, VINICIUS SAYS
Vinicius Junior was subjected to racist abuse yet again with the Brazil star saying the Spanish league “now belongs to racists”. The latest abuse against Vinicius came in Real Madrid’s 1-0 loss at Valencia, a match that had to be temporarily stopped after the Brazil forward said he was insulted by a fan behind one of the goals at Mestalla Stadium.
“It wasn’t the first time, or the second or the third. Racism is normal in La Liga. The competition thinks it’s normal, as does the federation, and the opponents encourage it,” Vinicius, 22, said on Instagram and Twitter. “The league that once belonged to Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Cristiano [Ronaldo] and [Lionel] Messi now belongs to racists. But I’m strong and I will fight until the end against the racists.” Vinicius, who is black, has been racially abused since moving to Spain five years ago.
Real coach Carlo Ancelotti considered replacing the star forward after Vinicius said fans at Mestalla chanted “monkey” towards him. He said Vinicius initially did not want to play on. “What happened today shouldn’t happen,” Ancelotti said. “When a stadium yells ‘monkey’ to a player, and the coach considers taking him out of the field because of that, it means that there is something bad in this league.”
The veteran coach refused to talk about the game after what happened, saying his team’s loss meant nothing. “The game should have been stopped,” Ancelotti said. “This shouldn’t happen. It wasn’t only one person, as it has happened in several stadiums. Here, it was a stadium racially insulting a player, the game had to stop. I would have said the same thing if it was 3-0 for us. You have to stop the game.”
Ancelotti said he asked the referee to stop the match, but was told the protocol was to first make an announcement to fans, then take other action if the problem continued. Ancelotti said Vinicius did not want to keep playing but he told the player that he was not guilty of anything and that he was the victim. Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said he would have left the field with Vinicius if his teammate had decided to stop playing. “Vinicius is upset, obviously, but more than upset, he is sad,” Ancelotti said. Media reports said Valencia had identified two fans who allegedly insulted Vinicius.
Associated Press