Vinícius was once again in the eye of the hurricane on a soccer field, after being subjected to racist insults by some Valencia fans, and ending up expelled for assaulting an opponent. The Brazilian faced the public making the "A Segunda" gesture, raising his index and middle fingers in the shape of a V or two.
LaLiga will investigate the incidents at Mestalla, where the Real Madrid players asked for the match to be stopped due to racist insults to the Brazilian striker.
The game that Valencia won against Real Madrid (1-0) got heated at times. Around minute 74, Vinícius went to one of the Mestalla funds to point out a fan whom he blamed for having insulted him. "It was you," he told him, while Militao and Lucas Vázquez recriminated the stands. The police arrived and all the players went to tell De Burgos what was happening.
The match was stopped for several minutes. Vinícius turned to Ancelotti, who asked him if he wanted to continue playing. "I don't want to play anymore", could be read on the Brazilian's lips.
The game resumed and in the 94th minute a brawl broke out. The Valencian Hugo Duro grabbed Vinicius and he took him off with a blow to the face. Direct red to the Brazilian, who left the field resented by the stands. The madridista responded by facing up and making the "A Segunda" gesture with his fingers.
At the end of the game, the statements were raised in tone. Carlo Ancelotti, in Movistar Plus, pointed out: "I don't want to talk about football, there are things that have happened that are more important than a defeat. I am very calm. What happened today does not have to happen. When a stadium shouts 'Monkey' a player and the coach thinks about removing him for this, there is something bad that happens in this League", commented the Italian coach.
"Vinícius did not want to continue playing, I have told him that it did not seem fair to me, he was not the culprit, he is the victim, and he has continued playing. Then they show him a meaningless red card because it is not an aggression. That said, the League has There's a problem: the game has to be stopped when there's an episode of racism, it can't happen. It's a stadium that insults a player for racism. I would say the same if we win 3-0. The game has to be stopped, I've told you to the referee. But he tells me that the protocol says that first you have to inform beforehand. What about? They have insulted him from the first minute. Vinícius is very sad".
About Vinícius's gesture to the public, sending Valencia to Segunda, Ancelotti said that "the reaction is quite normal; there is no but. An entire stadium has made racist insults. Let's see what happens. Nothing will happen. They have to evaluate well the situation because it is very serious. I don't want to talk about football", settled the Italian.
Vinícius received the support of his teammate Dani Ceballos, who declared in Movistar: "It's nothing new, Vinícius is disrespected in all fields in Spain, we should take care of him, he is a bulwark of our League and of our club. He is a It's a pity, the coach has asked him if he wanted to continue playing, but we already see that we can't do anything. It can't be that he has eleven yellow cards and one red and the rivals come out unscathed".
The Real Madrid midfielder also referred to Vinícius's gesture to the local fans: "Vincius's Second Division gesture was wrong, the Valencia fans deserve respect, I'm sure they'll apologize."
For his part, the Valencia coach, Rubén Baraja, censured the racist insults, but charged against Vinícius. "We are a senior club in our behavior, and if at any time someone has made a mistake or has said something that could be offensive against a player, we strongly condemn it because we are not in favor of this type of thing... but it is also true that there have been reactions resulting from tension that have not been up to the task. It is both. You have to be harsh in condemning racist insults by a minority, we condemn it, but there have also been situations that can be avoided: a "The player (Vinícius) was sent off precisely for hitting one of our players, and his behavior could be improved. He was provoking a bit after the expulsion. He made an ugly gesture and we have to respect this fans and this club", commented the coach .
The Madrid goalkeeper Courtois denounced in Movistar "the atrocities that can be heard on a football field" on a regular basis. "They have told me everything. Football has become an insult, more than animation." The Belgian commented that "I would have left the field with Vinícius if I had decided not to play anymore. These things cannot be tolerated. From then on the game has heated up. Then there is the tangana and Hugo Duro should have seen the red because he catches Vini's neck and his reaction is to try to remove it with his hand", he defended his Brazilian teammate.
Lucas Vázquez added: "We have experienced something difficult to explain in 2023; racism on a football field is unacceptable, many measures would have to be taken. Vinícius is the player who receives the most fouls in the League, but then he is the one who they try to provoke and get him out of the matches, he is not being protected at all", lamented the Real Madrid player.
