Vinicius Jr. gives testimony about racism in Valencia – 10/05/2023 – Sport

Brazilian striker Vinicius Junior gave a statement this Thursday (5) about the case in which he was the victim of racist insults involving Valencia fans. The Spanish club then asked the athlete to rectify his “supposed statement” that he had felt offended.

According to the local press, which cites sources close to the case, Vinicius Jr. told the judge that he felt “offended” by the insults he received at the Mestalla stadium and confirmed that the attacks occurred “because of his skin color”, they added these means.

The athlete testified from a Madrid court, the hearing being held via videoconference, according to the AFP news agency.

After his statement behind closed doors, the player left the venue without speaking to the journalists who were waiting for him outside the building.

“In view of the published information about the alleged statement made in court by the football player Vinicius Jr., stating that the entire Mestalla stadium hurled racist insults at him”, Valencia “wants to express its surprise, rejection and indignation”, the club stated in a communicated.

According to this Spanish team, “Valencian fans cannot be called racist and Valencia CF demands that Vinicius Jr. publicly rectify his alleged statement this morning”, stated the team.

The sports association also reiterated a statement by Real Madrid coach, Carlo Ancelotti, to state that “in no case can the behavior of the entire Mestalla stadium be generalized” on the day of the incident, on May 21st.

After the game in question, Ancelotti said he had “never seen an entire stadium hurling racist insults”. Two days later, he spoke out declaring that he was not referring to the “46 thousand people [presentes no estádio]I refer to a group that ‘behaved very badly'”.

The Real Madrid striker was the target of racist insults in the match against Valencia on May 21, which ended in a 1-0 defeat for the Merengues.

The game was stopped for several minutes, and the player confronted some of the alleged perpetrators, whom he pointed out in the stands.

“It wasn’t the first time, nor the second nor the third. Racism is normal in LaLiga. The championship that once belonged to Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Cristiano and Messi, today belongs to racists,” he said on his social media after the occurred.

‘I’m strong’

“But I am strong and I will go to the end against racists,” added the athlete.

As a result, court number 10 in Valencia opened an investigation into an alleged hate crime, following complaints from the Spanish Public Prosecutor’s Office and LaLiga.

Three young people are being investigated as alleged perpetrators of racist insults, who admitted to the judge that they carried out the gestures, but denied that they were motivated by hatred, or racist, against the player.

One of them was pointed out by Vinícius himself during the game at the Mestalla stadium. The others were identified by police through images from cameras at the scene.

Valencia declared, in turn, that “it is fully aware of the seriousness of this matter. Racism has no place in football or in society, but it cannot be combatted with fallacies or unfounded lies”, he added.

“This issue requires everyone’s involvement and Valencia CF understands that it must be scrupulously precise and responsible in these types of demonstrations”, he concluded.