Real Madrid have claimed that racist abuse provoked the reaction from Vinicius Junior that led to his red card against Valencia. Los Blancos have appealed his suspension, citing discrimination as a mitigating factor.
On Tuesday, Vinicius was handed a two-match suspension by the Competition Committee for his red card, the minimum suspension available for shoving Stole Dimitrievski in the face. The punishment could have been extended to four games.
Meanwhile, Valencia, like Leganes, are surprised by the fact that the ban was so short. During the VAR audio, referee Cesar Soto Grado acknowledges that the ball was not in play when Vinicius confronted Dimitrievski, but indicates in his match report that the play was dead. The material difference is that the suspension would have lasted between 4 and 12 games if the ball was not in play.
However, Los Blancos are trying to have the ban overturned on appeal, Relevo explains. They claim that Soto Grado was given incomplete evidence, while Dimitrievski's provocation was not shown to the referee. However, this is denied by the Competition Commission, which says it has seen that evidence twice.
Their second mitigating factor is alleged racial abuse. They say Vinicius was abused in the build-up to the red card, which softened his reaction. This defense has also been rejected by the Competition Committee, which states that it in no way justifies the action of the expelled player.
Real Madrid based their complaint on videos published by fans from the stands, in which racist insults towards Vinicius can be heard, but there is no evidence that Soto Grado, nor Vinicius, nor any of the Real Madrid players heard these insults. As Cadena SER noted, neither the referee nor Real Madrid took action to activate the racism protocol.
However, La Liga has opened an investigation into the racist abuse and is seeking action. It is not yet clear whether this could affect the Vinicius sanction, but fans and possibly Valencia could certainly be punished as a result.
Vinicius has had to deal with the scourge of racism more than anyone else in Spanish football, and there is no doubt that it is impossible to imagine the impact this has had on him for anyone else. However, this is in stark contrast to previous incidents where Vinicius and Carlo Ancelotti both addressed racist abuse as soon as they heard it, and both remained silent on the matter.
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