The shocking abuse Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr faced at Valencia revealed in new report

Warning: This article contains racist language that has been included by The Athletic to ensure the severity of it is not lost. The decision to partially shut Valencia’s ground The CC report detailed how before kick-off, as Real Madrid’s players got off their team bus at the gates of Valencia’s Mestalla stadium, “hundreds of fans who were stationed in the surroundings” chanted: “You are a monkey… Vinicius you are a monkey.” It went on to detail the severity and regularity of further racist chanting directed at Vinicius Jr during the match. Without quantifying how many individuals were involved, or what part of the stadium it came from, they cite supporters as shouting or chanting: ‘F*cking black you’re an idiot’ ‘I sh*t on your dead son of a b*tch’ ‘Vinicius idiot’ ‘F*cking black son of a b*tch’ ‘Vinicius dog… son of a b*tch’ ‘Monkey you are a f*cking monkey’ “The Competition Committee has sanctioned Valencia CF with the partial closure of the Mestalla stadium for five matches,” the report said. Valencia almost immediately announced that they would appeal against the stadium closure, adding in a statement: “Valencia CF wishes to show its total disagreement and indignation at the unfair and disproportionate penalty imposed by the Competition Committee on the club.” The decision to rescind Vinicius Jr’s red card The CC report also describes how monkey chants were heard throughout the game and that after Vinicius Jr was sent off in the 90th minute, there was a “general chant throughout the stands of ‘monkey, monkey’.” Vinicius Jr was shown the red card after some pushing and shoving between multiple players on both sides in injury time. Real Madrid, as part of a body of evidence they presented for this report, characterised Vinicius Jr’s actions in this way, according to the CC: “In a desperate attempt to get the rival player’s arm off his neck, given the imminent risk of asphyxiation, instinctively pulls the rival player off him.” Vinicius Jr demonstrates the abuse he received The CC report said that because VAR footage did not show this physical confrontation in its entirety, the referee had since requested that Vinicius Jr’s sending-off be rescinded.