VinÃcius was again in the eye of the hurricane on a football field because he was the subject of racist insults from a section of Valencia fans, and ended up being sent off for assaulting an opponent. The Brazilian faced the crowd making the “A Segona” gesture by raising his index and heart fingers in the shape of a V. LaLiga will investigate the incidents at Mestalla, where the Madrid players asked for the game to be stopped due to racist insults at the brazilian striker
The match heated up at times. Towards the 74th minute, VinÃcius headed towards one of the Mestalla’s end and pointed at a fan whom he blamed for insulting him by making the monkey gesture. “It was you”, he told him indignantly, while Militão and Lucas Vázquez reprimanded this sector of the stand.
The game was stopped for several minutes. VinÃcius turned to Ancelotti, his coach, who asked him if he wanted to continue playing.
– Vini didn’t want to continue playing, I told him that it didn’t seem fair to me, he wasn’t the culprit, he was the victim, and he continued to play – said Ancelotti, indignant at the umpteenth episode the striker is experiencing.
– The League has a problem: the match must be stopped when there is an episode of racism, it cannot happen. It’s a stadium that insults a player for racism. I would have said the same if we had won 3-0. The match must be stopped, I told the referee. But he told me that the protocol says that it must be reported first. of what They insulted him from the first minute. VinÃcius is very sad – the Italian manager of Madrid warmed up to Movistar.
The game resumed after the incident with the stands and in the 94th minute there was a scuffle. The Valencia player Hugo Duro grabbed VinÃcius and he took him off with a blow to the face. Direct red to the Brazilian, who left the field booed by the stands. The Real Madrid player responded by facing him and making the “A Segona” gesture with his fingers, which infuriated the Valencia fans. Among them, coach Rubén Baraja, who focused on VinÃcius’ “improveable behavior”, whom he accused of provoking.
– It is necessary to be harsh in the condemnation of racist insults by a minority, we condemn it, but there have also been situations that can be avoided: a player [VinÃcius] has been sent off just for biting one of our players, and his behavior can be improved. He was provoking after the expulsion. He made an ugly gesture and you have to respect this fan and this club – said the local coach.
His Italian counterpart justified the behavior of VinÃcius when he was expelled: “The reaction is quite normal: there is no but. A full stadium has made racist slurs. Let’s see what happens. Nothing will happen. They must assess the situation well because it is very serious”, concluded the Italian.
The footballers joined in the exchange of reproaches. Madrid goalkeeper Courtois said that “he would have left the field with VinÃcius if he had decided not to play anymore. These things cannot be tolerated”, said the Belgian. “During the scuffle, Hugo Duro should have seen red because he grabbed Vini’s neck and his reaction was to try to pull him off with his hand,” defended the Brazilian.
Dani Ceballos added that the whole thing “is nothing new, VinÃcius lacks respect in all the fields in Spain, we should take care of him, he is a stronghold of the League. It can’t be that he has eleven yellows and one red and the rivals come out unscathed”. Although he also criticized his teammate for the gesture of “A Segona”: “It was wrong, the fans of Valencia deserve respect, I’m sure they apologize”. He didn’t ask for them.
For Lucas Vázquez, “that there is racism in a football field is inadmissible, many measures should be taken. VinÃcius is the player who receives the most fouls in the League, but then he is the one they try to provoke and take out of the games, he is not being protected at all”, lamented the Madrid player.
For his part, the Valencia player Kluivert repudiated the racist insults: “I don’t like it, it’s not football, very bad”, said the striker.
