Racism has set off a round of support for Vinícius. How many times does he have to face it? Ferdinand asks. You’re not alone, writes Mbappé. Courtois would leave the pitch

Time and time again, Vinícius has been the subject of racism in La Liga. This time, the scene was the Valencia stadium, which had been racially abusing the Brazilian since his arrival at the match. And the big stars are calling for action.

Nine times now La Liga has lodged a complaint against home fans at Real Madrid away games. Each time for the same reason – racism towards Vinícius.

A couple of times the troublemakers have been found and punished, but otherwise nothing happens. No hard change comes and the young Brazilian continues to be the number one enemy of the whole of Spain.

Already when the Real Madrid players arrived at the Mestalla stadium, Valencia fans were chanting “Vinícius, eres un mono,” translated as “Vinícius, you are a monkey.” The same chants continued throughout the match.

One of the fans allegedly shouted at Vinícius that he was a monkey and a [expletive]. But the Brazilian saw him, ran to the stands and pointed at him. He brought in the referee, who paused the game and directly found the man who had racially abused him with his finger. But nothing happened.

Eventually, Vinicius was sent off in the 97th minute after a scuffle. Which was also speculative, as first an opposing player caught him in the back of the tie and when Vinícius swung, he only got a red card, the Valencia player walked away without a penalty.

And the big stars started calling for action. Immediately after the game, goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois defended his partner in an interview.

“From the 20th minute onwards, I heard monkey shouts and monkey screams. If Vini says he doesn’t want to play anymore and leaves the pitch, I’ll go with him right away. Hugo Duro grabs him by the back of the neck, Vini tries to shake him off, and Vini gets sent off… For once, you should watch the video properly,” Courtois defended his friend.

Ferdinand, Mbappé and others

Rio Ferdinand, a legend of Manchester United and the English national team, was heavily involved after that. He sent a long message to La Liga on his Instagram.

“Racists. Bro, you need protection. Who’s protecting Vinícius in Spain? He gets a red card after being choked and racially abused during a match. What the [bleep] is that? How many times do we have to see this young man face this sh*t? I see the pain, I see the disgust, I see how he needs help. And the authorities aren’t doing sh*t to help him,” Ferdinand began.

“People need to stick together and demand more from the authorities who run our game. No one deserves this, but you’re allowing it. There has to be a unified solution or it will be swept under the carpet for good,” the former stopper added, naming football’s biggest stars. “Stick together loud and proud. No to ignorant racists, ” he concluded.

And gradually, the stars began to speak out. “When will this end?” tweeted Rafael Leão, the Portuguese winger for AC Milan. “You are not alone. We are with you and we support you,” wrote Kylian Mbappé on Instagram.

Vinícius’ former club, Santos FC, also spoke out strongly. “Santos FC refuses to accept the racist attacks that Vinícius Junior has had to face, which happened several times during his career and were repeated today in the match against Valencia. Racism is a crime and more than fighting it, it must be stopped, ” the Brazilian club wrote in a statement.

The Brazilian national team also issued a lengthy statement in support of Vinícius. Real Madrid has remained silent so far, but is reportedly already planning tough action.

Source: Twitter, Instagram