Vinicius receives red card in Real Madrid defeat

Spain Striker Vinicius was racially abused, lost his temper and received a red card for hitting a player in the seventh minute of injury time in Real's 0-1 loss at Valencia in round 35 of La Liga.

According to Spanish newspaper Marca , Vinicius began to lose his temper and pointed at the racist chants at the Mestalla. The Brazilian striker also complained about the incident to referee De Burgos Bengoetxea, who then went to speak to Valencia coach Ruben Baraja and the delegate on the pitch to broadcast a message from the public address system calling for an end to the insults.

Vinicius was furious with racist boos directed at him from Valencia fans in the Mestalla stadium on May 21. Photo: AS

Mr Bengoetxea has introduced a new rule that could put the game at risk of being stopped. FIFA recently changed the rules to allow referees to suspend or even abandon matches over racist incidents.

In the first, De Burgos called for the insults and objects to stop being thrown onto the pitch through the loudspeakers. Vinicius then went on to denounce a particular spectator, prompting the Mestalla's public address system to repeat the message. A third warning meant the game would be stopped, and it was De Burgos who reassured the Real striker. "Trust me, next time we'll leave the pitch," he told Vinicius.

However, the 22-year-old striker could not keep his cool and hit Hugo Duro in the face during a scuffle between the two teams in the seventh minute of stoppage time. The referee initially showed a yellow card, but changed it to a red card after consulting VAR. As he left the pitch, Vinicius raised two fingers towards the stands where the overzealous fans were, implying that Valencia could be relegated next season.

Vinicius hit Duro in the face during a scuffle between players from both sides in extra time. Photo: screenshot — Vinicius hit Duro in the face during a scuffle between players from both sides in extra time. Photo: *screenshot*

After the match, Vinicius wrote on Instagram : "The reward for racists is to give me a red card. This is not football, this is La Liga. This is not the first time, nor the second or third time. Racism is normal in La Liga. Opponents think it is normal, so the organizers and teams encourage it."

According to Vinicius, La Liga was once admired for having outstanding players such as Ronaldinho, Ronaldo de Lima, Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi, but now "belongs to racists". He continued: "Sorry for the Spaniards who disagree, but today in Brazil, Spain is known as the country of racists. And unfortunately with everything that happens every week, I have no way to stop it. But I am strong and I will do everything to fight racists, even if I am far away from here".

In the post-match press conference, coach Carlo Ancelotti said he had spoken to Vinicius but did not want to replace his player just because of racist words. According to the Italian coach, the referee should have been more forceful and stopped the match.

Lopez celebrates after scoring for Valencia. Photo: AS

Valencia won 1-0 thanks to Diego Lopez's close-range goal in the 33rd minute. The result helped Valencia move further towards their goal of staying in the league, with 40 points, five points ahead of the relegation zone. Meanwhile, Real lost second place to Atletico - a club from the same city that crushed Osasuna 3-0 at home.

Key developments of the match Valencia 1-0 Real Madrid.

Line-up :

Valencia : Mamardashvili, Correia (Lato 68), Comert, Ozkacar, Gaya (Musah 90), Gonzalez, Moreno, Noguerol (Foulquier 58), Almeida, Justin Kluivert (Duro 90), Cavani (Dias Lino 58).

Real : Courtois, Vazquez, Militao, Rudiger, Mendy (Carvajal 86), Camavinga (Rodrygo 46), Tchouameni (Valverde 86), Ceballos (Kroos 65), Asensio (Modric 65), Benzema, Vinicius.

Hong Duy

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