Real Madrid allege racism as reason for Vinicius Junior red card
Yesterday at 04:55 AM
Real Madrid have claimed that racial abuse provoked the reaction of Vinicius Junior that led to his red card against Valencia. Los Blancos have appealed his suspension, and cited discrimination as a mitigating factor.
On Tuesday, Vinicius was handed a two-game ban by the Competition Committee for his red card, the minimum ban available for pushing Stole Dimitrievski in the face. The punishment could have extended to four games.
Meanwhile Valencia, as well as Leganes, have been surprised by the fact that the ban was so short. During the VAR audio, referee Cesar Soto Grado acknowledges that the ball was not in play as Vinicius confronts Dimitrievski, but in his match report, reflects that the play was dead. The material difference is that the ban would have been between 4 and 12 games if the ball is not in play.
Los Blancos are however trying to have the ban overturned on appeal, as explained by Relevo. They allege that Soto Grado was shown incomplete evidence, with Dimitrievski's provocation no shown to the referee. However this has been denied by the Competition Committee, who say that he did see that evidence twice.
Their second mitigating factor is alleged racial abuse. They say that Vinicius was abused in the lead up to the red card, mitigating his reaction. This defence has been rejected by the Competition Committee too, who say that it in no way justifies the action of the player sent off.
Real Madrid based their complaint on videos published by fans from the stands, in which racist insults towards Vinicius can be heard, but there is no evidence that Soto Grado nor Vinicius nor any of the Real Madrid players heard these insults. As pointed out by Cadena SER, neither the referee nor Real Madrid moved to activate the racism protocol.
La Liga have opened an investigation into the racial abuse though, as they seek action. It is not yet clear whether this could impact the Vinicius sanction, but it could certainly see fans and potentially Valencia punished as a result.
Vinicius has had to deal with the scourge of racism more than anyone else in Spanish football, and there is no doubt that it is impossible to imagine the impact that this has on him for anyone else. However this does contrast with previous incidents where Vinicius and Carlo Ancelotti both directly addressed racial abuse when they heard it, and both have remained silent on the matter.
The post Real Madrid allege racism as reason for Vinicius Junior red card appeared first on Football España.
