Understand the case of racism against Vinicius Junior – 05/24/2023 – Sport

Revealed by Flamengo, striker Vinicius Junior moved to Europe in 2018, aged 18. Since his arrival, he has been criticized for the high value of his pass and for not living up to expectations at the start of his time at Real Madrid.

In recent years, especially under Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti, Vinicius rose to Real Madrid’s titleholders, was decisive in the club’s achievements and became one of the club’s main stars.

Since 2021, however, Vinicius has suffered racist attacks from opposing fans and even the Spanish press. He understands what happened in the match against Valencia, last Sunday (21), its repercussions and the entire history of racism against the Brazilian in Spain.

What happened?

Vinicius Junior, 22, Brazilian striker for Real Madrid, was on the field in a match against Valencia, at the Mestalla stadium, for the 35th round of LaLiga, the Spanish Championship.

At 62 minutes, the ESPN broadcast already recorded the recurrence of racist chants against Vinicius during the dispute. In a video available on YouTube, the word “mono”, monkey, in Spanish, can be heard being chanted repeatedly by the crowd.

In the 72nd minute of the match, Vinicius goes to the stands behind the goal to confront fans who hurled insults and made racist gestures.

Quickly, Spanish captain Gayà, from Valencia, and German defender Rudiger, from Real Madrid, try to pull Vinicius away and prevent him from confronting the crowd.

Outraged, Vinicius calls the referee to talk and argues with Valencia players, who try to discourage him. The referee argues with the striker.

Vinicius then turns to the Italian Carlo Ancelotti, coach of Real Madrid. In a press conference, the commander said that he asked Vinicius if the left winger would prefer to leave the match.

Meanwhile, the referee talks with Valencia’s Spanish coach, Rubén Baraja, and the match delegate. Belgian goalkeeper Courtois, Brazilian defender Éder Militão and the Real Madrid coach also discuss. The crowd starts chanting racist insults again.

Why was Vinicius Junior expelled?

Later, in the 93rd minute of the match, confusion begins after a free kick by Real Madrid.

Near the bottom line, American midfielder Yunus Musah, from Valencia, holds the ball to delay Real Madrid’s corner kick.

The merengue Antonio Rudiger, then, confronts the player, trying to take the ball from his hands, and knocks him down. Immediately, Vinicius runs up to Musah and argues with the midfielder, who is still on the ground.

From there, Valencia players started to attack Vinicius, especially the goalkeeper Mamardashvil, who took off. Both teams enter the cake, surrounding the Brazilian striker. At this moment, the Spanish striker Hugo Duro applies a rear naked choke, a choke hold also known as a tie.

The Spaniard holds the blow for eight seconds. When Vinicius manages to free himself, he hits Hugo in the face with his right forearm. The Valencia player falls to the ground. At first, the referee decided to punish goalkeeper Mamardashvil and Vinicius with a yellow card.

Then, VAR interferes and suggests reviewing the bid in the video booth. The excerpt selected by the video referee and shown to the judge on the field shows only Vinicius’ aggression, disregarding the Valencia forward’s rear-naked choke.

Thus, the yellow card is canceled and replaced by the expulsion of the Brazilian. Hugo Duro goes unpunished. On the way out of the field, Vinicius is escorted by defender Rudiger and goalkeeper Courtois, who are trying to rush their teammate.

Full-back Lucas Vázquez hugs the attacker, talks to him and accompanies him to the sideline. As he approached the exit, Vinicius ironized the referee’s decision with applause, signaled the number two with his fingers and made falling gestures towards the crowd.

The signs are a provocation to the Valencia team, which is in danger of relegation in this edition of the Spanish Championship, five points from the relegation zone after the 35th round.

Immediately, Valencia’s reserves go on top of Vinicius, forming another cake. With the exit and the end of the confusion, in the 98th minute, the game is played again, and ends in 1-0 for the Catalonia team.

Other cases of racism against Vinicius

The first case recorded on the field took place in a clash between Real Madrid and Barcelona, ​​on October 24, 2021, at Camp Nou, home of the Catalan team. At the time, a fan made racist insults to Vinicius, who responded by pointing to the match scoreboard: the meringues were winning 1-0.

Since then, nine other cases have been registered, involving fans of teams such as Mallorca (twice), Atlético Madrid (twice), Valladolid, Osasuna, Real Betis, another incident with Barcelona fans and the most recent one with Valencia .

On social media, Vinicius published a compilation of scenes from the attacks.

But the insults didn’t just happen in the stadiums. In September 2022, Pedro Bravo, president of the Spanish Association of Players’ Entrepreneurs, said in a debate on El Chiringuito de Jugones, a popular sports program on Spanish TV, that Vinicius Junior should stop “hacer el mono”, an expression that can be translated like “monkeying”.

“You have to respect the opponent. When you score a goal, if you want to dance the samba, go to the Sambódromo, in Brazil. Here, you must respect your fellow professionals and stop acting like a monkey”, said Bravo.

The statement was given shortly before the derby between Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid, during which images were recorded of fans calling Vinicius a monkey, outside the stadium, before the match.

On the occasion, Real Madrid won 2-1, away from home, with a goal by the Brazilian Rodrygo, who took the opportunity to samba with Vinicius during the celebration.

Who is Gabriel Paulista?

Gabriel Paulista is a Brazilian defender who plays for Valencia. Shortly after the attacks against Vinicius, Gabriel made posts on his social networks praising the club’s fans and defending them against accusations of racism.

The defender’s allegation is the same as that of the club, its coach and part of the Spanish company: the fans would have shouted “tonto” instead of “mono”.

This is not the first confrontation between Gabriel and Vinicius. In the match between Real Madrid and Valencia for the first round of LaLiga, at the Santiago Bernabéu, Gabriel gave Vinicius a violent kick and was sent off with a direct red card.

The defender did not participate in Sunday’s match because he was suspended again, this time, for a sending-off against Celta de Vigo, in the previous game.

Who is Javier Tebas?

Javier Tebas Mendrano has been the president of LaLiga since 2013. Born in Costa Rica, he is a naturalized Spaniard. His name reverberated in recent days due to his response to Vinicius Junior, on Twitter, about the case of racism.

“Since those who should don’t explain to you what LaLiga is and what LaLiga can do in cases of racism, we tried to explain, but you didn’t show up on any of the agreed dates that you yourself requested. Before criticizing and insulting LaLiga, it is necessary that you inform yourself properly.

Vinicius replied. “Once again, instead of criticizing racists, the president of LaLiga appears on social networks to attack me. No matter how much you talk and pretend not to read, the image of your championship is shaken. See the responses to your posts and have a surprise… Omitting yourself only makes you equal to racists. I’m not your friend to talk about racism. I want actions and punishments. Hashtag doesn’t move me”, tweeted the attacker.