Vinicius racist abuse in Real Madrid game barely makes Spanish front pages
The shocking racist abuse of Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr. barely earned a mention on the Spanish front pages Monday morning.
Real’s 1-0 defeat at Valencia in LaLiga on Sunday night was paused for several minutes after the Brazilian winger claimed spectators behind the goal in Mestalla insulted him.
Vinicius said in an Instagram post afterwards that “the championship that once belonged to Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Cristiano and Messi now belongs to the racists.”
Furious Real, meanwhile, is taking legal action over the “hate crime” suffered by the 22-year-old.
Vinicius was sent off in extra time at the end of the game after striking out Hugo Duro on a melee – the first red card of his career.
Real Madrid star Vinicius Jnr said he was racially insulted by a spectator during his team’s 1-0 defeat to Valencia on Sunday
The Brazilian winger angrily pointed to the spectator in the stands at the Mestalla
The front page of Marca on Monday made no reference to the Vinicius racism incident
But the incident was only briefly reported on page one of Spain’s sports dailies.
Madrid’s Marca devoted the entire front page to Real’s dramatic 79-78 victory over Olympiacos in the EuroLeague basketball final, without reference to Vinicius.
Diario AS also led solidly with the basketball, but at least mentioned the racist incident on their front page – albeit at the very bottom.
‘Mestalla Vinicius Madness’ headlined on a sub-deck with a small angle shot of the player pointing to his alleged abuser in the stands.
“The Brazilian forces a fan to evict for a racist gesture… and then he sees the red card,” they add.
AS also quoted Real manager Carlo Ancelotti as saying afterwards: “There is a problem and it is not Vini.”
While Catalan sports newspapers focused on the possible return of Lionel Messi to the club from Paris Saint-Germain, there was at least a prominent mention of the Vinicius incident.
“Vinicius mess,” Mundo Deportivo wrote at the top of their first page. “He was eventually expelled from school despite insults.”
Diario AS did mention the Vinicius drama on their front page, but under the basketball
Sport called it a ‘scandal’, but their main story was about Barcelona’s pursuit of Lionel Messi
Messi also dominated the front of Mundo Deportivo on Monday with Vinicius above
They also quoted a bit more from the player’s Instagram post: “Sorry to the Spaniards who disagree, but today Spain is known in Brazil as a country of racists.”
Diario Sport described what happened as a ‘scandal’ as they described Vinicius being ‘expelled from school for an act of aggression after being insulted by a member of the public’.
It’s not the first time he’s been the target of racist abuse this season, and the Brazilian then took to Twitter to declare that Spanish football has hit a new low after previously having a league that Europe envied.
“It wasn’t the first time, nor the second, nor the third. Racism is normal in LaLiga,” he claimed.
As Madrid chased the match, Vinicius (right) was sent off for beating Valencia’s Hugo Duro
It comes after the Brazilian was the subject of racial discrimination several times this season
‘The competition thinks it’s normal, so does the union and the opponents encourage it. I’m very sorry.
“The championship that once belonged to Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Cristiano and Messi belongs today to racists. A beautiful nation, which welcomed me and I love, but which agreed to export the image of a racist country to the world.
“I’m sorry for those Spaniards who disagree, but today Spain is known in Brazil as a country of racists. And unfortunately, for everything that happens every week, I have no defense. I agree with that. But I am strong and I will go to the end against racists. Even if it’s far from here.’
This sparked an argument with LaLiga president Javier Tebas, who claimed the player’s criticism was ‘unfair’.
Vinicius took to social media after the game to declare: ‘I will go to the end against racists’
But LaLiga president Tebas hit back, urging him to ‘be well informed’
The Madrid winger then shot Tebas in a biting response, insisting the time for words had passed while demanding action be taken.
Vinicius Jr. has faced racism from rival fans on numerous occasions this season, with perhaps the most high-profile incident when his team faced arch rivals Atletico Madrid in September.
Atletico supporters reportedly called him a “monkey” when the sides faced each other at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium, but a Spanish prosecutor later concluded that the chants “did not constitute a crime” as they “lasted only a few seconds”.
Vinicius Jnr became the target of further racist chants from Valladolid fans in January, and Mallorca and Osasuna supporters the following month, leading to LaLiga filing complaints with the court, with Atletico striker Alvaro Morata calling for a lifetime ban from those responsible for attending matches.