Vinicius Jr. faces racist abuse during Real Madrid’s defeat at Valencia

VALENCIA: Valencia beat Real Madrid 1-0 in a La Liga game on Sunday marred by an ugly racism episode targeting Vinicius Junior. 

The Brazilian forward was subjected to racist chanting from the crowd at the Mestalla stadium and was sent off in the final minutes of the game following an altercation with Valencia player Hugo Duro.

“The championship that once belonged to Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Cristiano and Messi today belongs to racists,” Vinicius wrote on Instagram.

The incident happened in the second half and the game was paused for a few minutes when the 22-year-old pointed out fans in the stand for the alleged racial abuse.

He was ushered away by teammates and Valencia players and brought the incident to referee Ricardo de Burgos’s attention and spoke to his manager Carlo Ancelotti.

The referee’s official report said, “In the 73rd minute, a spectator from the southern ‘Mario Kempes’ tribune directed himself towards player No. 20 of Real Madrid CF Mr. Vinicius José De Oliveira Do Nascimiento, screaming at him: ‘Monkey, monkey’ which led to the activation of the racism protocol.”

.”I don’t want to talk about football today, there is no meaning in talking about football today,” said Ancelotti after the match.

Real Madrid, however, slipped to third place, one point behind city rivals Atletico Madrid following the defeat.

Diego Lopez struck from close range in the 33rd minute to give Valencia crucial points and keep them well above relegation with only three games to spare.

Barcelona have already won the title last week when they beat Espanyol 4-2.

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