Football authorities in Spain have punished Spanish La Liga club, Valencia over the racial abuse Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior suffered at the club’s stadium last weekend.
On Sunday, May 21, Real Madrid traveled to Valencia for a La Liga match at the Mestalla stadium. During the game which ended in a 1-0 defeat to Madrid, Vinicius reported opposition fans to the referee. They were reportedly making racist chants against him.
Due to his agitations, the game was paused for minutes before action resumed in the controversial encounter.
Afterward, Vinicius Junior who was racially abused by Valencia fans at the south stand of the stadium was involved in a brawl with Valencia forward Hugo Duro.
The Brazilian winger was captured by the video assistant referee (VAR) pushing Duro to the floor which forced the referee to give him a straight red card amidst the racial attacks from the fans.
The racial attacks targeted at Vinicius sparked global attention and condemnation from all walks of life, especially from his teammates in Brazil’s national team.
Due to the viral agitation, the incident has caused, Spanish government spokeswoman Isabel Rodriguez said: “Spain is fighting this behavior. We condemn it and we are working to eradicate it.”
Punishment for Valencia
Due to the racial attacks, Vinicius Junior was subjected to at Valencia’s Mestalla stadium, football authorities in Spain have ordered the club to close down the South Stand of the stadium because that was where the racial attacks against the Brazilian emanated from.
Also, the Spanish La Liga club would have to pay a fine worth 45,000 euros for the racial attack.
After the pronouncement of the punishment, Valencia reacted via a statement issued on Tuesday: “Valencia have collaborated from the first minute with the police and all relevant authorities to clarify the events that occurred.
“In addition, we have applied the maximum possible sanction with the ban for life from our stadium for racist behavior of the fans identified by police.”
The Spanish La Liga also rescinded the red card that was given to Vinicius Junior because it was discovered after the game that Duro first held the Brazilian neck, an incident which is a red card offense but wasn’t noticed by the referee and the VAR during the game.
