Real’s Vinicius has red card rescinded
MADRID: Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior’s red card in Sunday’s La Liga match at Valencia, when he was also racially abused, has been rescinded, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) said on Tuesday.
The Brazilian winger was sent off in stoppage time by referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea for striking an opponent following a scuffle with Valencia players in which Vinicius appeared to be grabbed around the neck.
Vinicius had earlier been racially abused by fans at the Mestalla Stadium, which led to the game being halted for 10 minutes as the player pointed out people who were abusing him in the stands.
“The RFEF Competition Committee considers that the referee’s assessment was determined by the omission of the entirety of the play that took place, which affected the refereeing decision,” the federation said.
“The fact that he [the referee] was deprived of a decisive part of the facts led him to adopt an arbitrary decision. And this is because it was impossible for him to properly assess what happened.”
Seven people accused of different hate crimes against Vinicius were detained by the Spanish police earlier on Tuesday.
The RFEF also announced that it had fined the club €45,000 (US$49,536) and that the south stand of the Valencia stadium will be partially closed for five matches.
Valencia called the sanction “disproportionate” and “unfair,” saying it harms the fans who were not involved in the “shameful incident”.
The club added they would appeal the partial closure of the stadium.
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said on Tuesday he expected Brazilian forward to remain at the Spanish club despite facing racist abuse in several La Liga matches.
“I don’t think [he will leave Spain], because he loves football and he loves Real Madrid. His love for the club is very big and he wants to make his career here,” Ancelotti said.
He said Vinicius was “very sad” yet overwhelmed by the “unconditional support” he was receiving “even from rivals.”
“He is the victim of what’s going on. Sometimes I see people putting the blame on him, saying that he provokes, about his attitude... no!” he said, adding that the fact that the insults had started as soon as the club bus arrived at the stadium invalidated arguments that Vinicius had provoked the fans.
Ancelotti urged authorities to take more effective actions against racism and hate speech in football and said the protocols in place to deal with the issue were obsolete.
“I want actions! And nothing has been done yet. There are countries where they don’t insult you, like England, for example, where they solved it a long time ago: when they expelled England from European competition for five years.”