MADRID (AP) – Vinicius Junior is not playing but all his Real Madrid teammates took to the pitch on Wednesday wearing the number 20 jersey in support of the Brazilian star ahead of a match against Rayo Vallecano in the Spanish league.
And then they honored him with a 2-1 victory, thanks to a goal from his company Rodrygo.
In the evening, voices of solidarity abounded, in the first meeting from the most recent racist insults directed at Euer, who contemplated the possibility of leaving the field in Sunday’s meeting, in front of the dance of Valencia that had prepared him. monkey
That scene came with the support of Vinicius against the Bernabéu Stadium in Santiago.
“The main thing was, it was very nice that all the support of the wine. What happened to him could happen to many players. We know it has happened many times in football,” Rodrygo said. “But we are happy because we see the world coming together.”
The Brazilian footballer was briefly seen greeting the spectators while the Madrid players, including those not called to the match, lined up with their backs to the bases. Vinicius witnessed the match accompanied by Varum president Florentino Pérez.
After 20 minutes, the fans began to applaud and chant the name of the Brazilian attacker, many feet. Vinicius rose from his chair and shook the governor’s box.
“I LOVE THEM!!! THANK YOU, KIND AND THANK YOU!” the player later tweeted.
Outside the Bernabéu, many Madrid fans came with banners saying they reject racism and support Vinicius. Inside, a huge sign was raised behind one of the arches with the words: “We are all equal, that’s enough.”
Vinicius did not do it because of what the club explained was a slight discomfort in his knee.
The star was sent off after an altercation late in the match against Valencia, but the red card was overturned the day before because the pictures shown by the referee for reviewing the plays did not show the whole thing, even the moment when the rival was caught. Brazilians behind.
In the preview, coach Carlo Ancelotti had said that Vinicius wanted to rest after the stress of recent days.
In the early morning, Valencia announced that it would appeal the partial closure of the stadium after racist insults against Vinicius Junior. He claimed the sanction was “unfair and disproportionate”.
The Spanish Football Federation fined Valencia 45,000 euros ($48,500) on Tuesday night, ending a five-game streak at the Mestalla stadium in which the largest fine ever imposed on a club in a racism case in Spain. .
The sanction is part of an energetic response by soccer and Spanish authorities after the outpouring of support for Vinicius, who on Sunday became the target of abuse from some Valentino fans.
Vinicius, who is black, had frequent racist insults after his arrival in Spain five years ago. The 22-year-old Brazilian star has strongly criticized her country and its laxity against racism after a recent incident.
“Valencia CF wishes to show all its disagreement and indignation at the unfair and disproportionate sanction imposed by the Competition Committee,” the club explained in a statement on Wednesday. “The strength of the CF is to publicly denounce that in this resolution (…) they present contradictory evidence that the National Police and the League say. And this sanction is based on evidence that the club could not see.
The club, which was fighting for relegation to the second division, complained that it had no reason to defend itself before the Senate. He stated that Valencia had cooperated with the authorities from the beginning and that what had happened was severely condemned.
Shortly after the match, the team said that it was working with the authorities to identify the employee responsible and a day later banned the person involved in the incident from entering the stadium.
With the cooperation of the Valencia club, the police arrested three people on suspicion of inciting hatred for insulting the Brazilian striker. All were banned from Mestalla for life. He said the team can impose a large penalty.
Valencia has one game left in its stadium this season, on Sunday against Espanyol, who are also fighting to not lose the category. Valencia is 13th in the standings, five points above the relegation zone.
Mestalla stands that the area where Vinicius’ insults originated will be closed, behind one of the goals, where most extreme fans are usually located.
The competition commission also overturned Vinicius’ red card, an unusual decision that surprised many.
“The acts of racism and insults are to be noted, but the expulsion has nothing to do with what happened on the field,” said Barcelona coach Xavi Hernández. “I’m surprised the red one pulled it back.”
