Real Madrid talisman Vinicius Jr will be able to play against Rayo Vallecano after his recent red card was overturned.
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, the Brazilian forward took to social media to protest and condemned the authorities’ lack of action. 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.
Why did Vinicius Jr receive a red card?
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.
The player was later sent off for a heated brawl with Valencia players. Even though later images emerged to show that Vinicius Jr was the one that was choked, VAR did not capture it at the time, leading to Vini receiving a red card.
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.”
Real Madrid has also already filed a hate crime complaint with Spanish authorities.
Why was the red card canceled?
The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), which is in charge of all competitions in Spain has decided to intervene. They have now canceled the red card, meaning Vinicius Jr will no longer suffer any punishments.
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.
🚨🚨| BREAKING: Vini's red card has been CANCELLED. He can play tomorrow. @COPE
— Madrid Zone (@theMadridZone) May 23, 2023
The RFEF has not stopped there. 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 £40,000, due to its inability to control their fans.
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.
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.
