‘League belongs to racists’

Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr gestures at Valencia fans at the Mestalla Stadium in Valencia, Spain, on Sunday. Pic/Getty Images

Vinícius Junior was subjected to racist abuse yet again with the Brazil star saying the Spanish league "now belongs to racists."

The latest abuse against Vinícius came in Real Madrid's 1-0 loss at Valencia, a match that had to be temporarily stopped after the Brazil forward said he was insulted by a fan behind one of the goals at Mestalla Stadium.

"It wasn't the first time, or the second or the third. Racism is normal in LaLiga. The competition thinks it's normal, as does the federation, and the opponents encourage it," Vinícius said on Instagram and Twitter. "The league that once belonged to Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Cristiano [Ronaldo] and [Lionel] Messi now belongs to racists ... But I'm strong and I will fight until the end against the racists. Even if far from here."

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The 22-year-old Vinícius, who is dark-skinned, has been subjected to racist abuse since moving to Spain five years ago.
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti considered replacing the star forward after Vinícius said fans at Mestalla chanted "monkey" toward him. He said Vinícius initially didn't want to continue playing.

"What happened today shouldn't happen," Ancelotti said. "When a stadium yells ‘monkey' to a player, and the coach considers taking him out of the field because of that, it means that there is something bad in this league."

The veteran coach refused to talk about the game after what happened, saying his team's loss meant nothing.

‘Game should've stopped'

"The game should have been stopped," Ancelotti said. "This shouldn't happen. It wasn't only one person, as it has happened in several stadiums. Here, it was a stadium racially insulting a player, the game had to stop. I would have said the same thing if it was 3-0 for us. You have to stop the game, there was no way around it."

Ancelotti said he asked the referee to stop the match, but was told that the protocol was to first make an announcement to fans, then take other action if the problem continued.

Mbappe in support

Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappe sent a message of support to fellow forward Vinícius Junior after the Real Madrid player was subjected to racist abuse. "You are not alone. We are with you and we support you," Mbappe wrote on Instagram.

Meanwhile, Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told a news conference in Japan on the sidelines of a G7 meeting that he hopes FIFA, the Spanish League and other football bodies "take measures so we don't allow racism and fascism to take over" the sport.

"It is not fair that a poor boy who is winning in his life, becoming one of the best in the world, certainly the best at Real Madrid, is insulted in every stadium he goes to," Lula said.

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