Picture Credit: Instagram
After hearing racial slurs from spectators during Real Madrid's loss to Valencia on Sunday, Vinicius Junior accused La Liga and Spain of being racist. The game was paused for ten minutes after Vinicius Junior called out the crowd who were criticising him. Later, during extra time, he got into a fight with Valencia's players and was dismissed. Vinicius has faced harassment from rival supporters since moving to Madrid as an 18-year-old in 2018, and he has even faced prejudice from authorities in the Spanish football community.
Vinicius Junior shared his views about the discrimination in the Spanish league on social media after the game. “It wasn’t the first time, nor the second, nor the third. Racism is normal in La Liga,” Vinícius wrote in an emotional post. “The competition thinks it’s normal, the Federation does too and the opponents encourage it. I'm so sorry. The championship that once belonged to Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Cristiano and Messi today belongs to racists,” his message continued.
The forward has experienced ten incidents of racial abuse this season, according to reports in Spain. The most recent accusation against Vinicius Junior was made to a court in Mallorca after fans were caught on camera hurling racial slurs towards the forward. Not only this, but the Brazilian footballer is also currently a subject of an investigation by Spanish police for a potential hate crime after a mannequin with his No. 20 jersey was hung from a bridge at Real Madrid's training facility in January.
Talking about the La Liga, Valencia moved further away from relegation danger with a 1-0 victory thanks to a goal from Diego López in the first half. Valencia is 13th in La Liga with three games remaining and 40 points, five points above the relegation zone. Real Madrid on the other hand, is in third place with 71 points, 14 points behind Barcelona, who won the league last week with four games remaining.
