Valencia has been dealt with some heavy punishments after the clubs’ fans were found guilty of racially abusing Vinicius Jr in their last match.
Real Madrid lost 1-0 away to Valencia on Sunday. There Vinicius Jr was also the victim of vile racist abuses, with the whole opposition stadium insulting him. That very game, he received a red card for an altercation with Valencia players.
After the game, Vinicius decided to condemn the authorities for their lack of action. In a social media post, he wrote, “It wasn’t the first time, nor the second, nor the third. Racism is normal in La Liga. The competition thinks it’s normal, the Federation does too and the opponents encourage it. I’m so sorry.”
This has led to him getting widespread support from many other football players and personalities. Even the Brazilian president asked for justice on Vini’s behalf.
Under the pressure of such huge opposition, Valencia has been finally punished.
What punishments has Valencia received?
The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), which is in charge of all competitions in Spain has decided to intervene.
They have ordered Valencia to close down their Mario Kempes stand, which is where most of the racist chants came from, for five games. Valencia will also have to pay a fine of $48,000, due to its inability to control their fans.
The Spanish Federation has sanctioned Valencia with a partial closure of the Mestalla stadium for five matches and a $48,000 fine following fans' racial abuse of Vinicius Junior. pic.twitter.com/RnM3Gi26JV
— B/R Football (@brfootball) May 23, 2023
Valencia was quick to show their disappointment at the decision and released a statement. It read, “Valencia have collaborated from the first minute with the police and all relevant authorities to clarify the events that occurred.”
“In addition, we have applied the maximum possible sanction with the ban for life from our stadium for racist behavior of the fans identified by police.”
Moreover, six referees have been fired now. including the referee in charge of VAR during the controversial match. This was due to his inability to show Vinicius Jr being choked, and for showing biased images to the on-field referee.
🚨🚨| BREAKING: Vini's red card has been CANCELLED. He can play tomorrow. @COPE
— Madrid Zone (@theMadridZone) May 23, 2023
On Tuesday night, the Competition Committee decided to make Vinicius’ red card invalid and removed any punishments that he would be given. Such a decision was never given before and came after long meetings between the top officials.
Real Madrid will feel relief at this news. Previously, they thought that Vinicius will be given a three-match suspension. He can now be included in the clash against Rayo Vallecano tonight. Whether Vinicius returns to the squad is now unknown as he was part of the recent training sessions.
What abuse did Vinicius Jr receive?
The Valencia fans were seen shouting racist insults and chants throughout the game aimed at Vinicius Jr, all based on his black skin color. They called him ‘mono’, which means monkey in Spanish. There is a video below that shows the full extent of the racist chants.
Real Madrid has also already filed a hate crime complaint with Spanish authorities.
Already three people involved in the racist abuse have been detained by Spanish police. Valencia has also responded by giving them a lifetime ban from their stadium.
Over the previous two seasons, Vinicius has been treated to racial insults from the opposition fans on multiple occasions during La Liga matches, and seven individuals were detained on Tuesday in connection with episodes of racist abuse aimed towards the Real Madrid player this season. Four of them were arrested for hanging an effigy of the player during the Madrid derby.
Real Madrid will face Rayo Vallecano tonight at the Santiago Bernabeu.
