Spanish Police have detained three Valencia fans in connection to the racial abuse directed at Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr. in a match on Sunday.
Valencia CF was fined 45,000 Euros for the incident
The Brazilian was sent off late in the match after VAR (video assistant referee) showed Vini Jr. smacking a Valencia forward in the face. The footage did not show the same forward having Vini in a chokehold moments before.
An unrighteous red card in the 97th minute of a La Liga matchup has escalated into a much larger situation; Valencia CF has been sanctioned a partial stadium closure and a fine due to racist abuse during Sunday’s match against Real Madrid.
The red card has since been reversed, so Vini will not have to serve a suspension. The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) said the reason behind Vini Jr’s ejection was due to the referee being “deprived of a decisive part of the facts” and it was “impossible for him to properly assess what happened”.
The south stand of Mestalla Stadium will be closed for the next five matches, the section a visibly irate Vini Jr. reported Valencia fans to the referee. The match was paused in the second half, and the three that were detained have also been banned for life from the stadium. Real Madrid filed the incident as a hate crime with the Spanish prosecutor’s office to pile on.
“It is considered proven that, as reflected by the referee in his minutes, there were racist shouts at Vinicius, altering the normal course of the match and considering the infractions very serious,” RFEF said while explaining the partial stadium closure.
Vini took to Twitter to show his disgust with the way he sees racism being handled in La Liga and in Spain. A Twitter battle later ensued:
