Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has told the press in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia that Vinicius Junior should not have been suspended for his red card, while noting that the insults heaped upon him must be difficult to deal with. The Brazilian took center stage for the fourth press conference in a row, with Ancelotti asking about him four times.
Vinicius has been handed a two-match ban for his red card against Valencia after pushing Stole Dimitrievski in the face. He was asked about Real Madrid claiming that racist abuse had provoked Vinicius' reaction, and about his ban, but did not speak of racist abuse himself.
“Both I and he hear what is happening in the field. I keep saying that being Vinicius is hard. The sanction is not correct.”
A consistent topic of conversation in the Spanish capital has been the attempts, or failed attempts, to calm Vinicius. Still, Ancelotti said he did not need to find a way to temper Vinicius' reactions.
“We are happy with Vinicius in every respect,” he explained to the press in Jeddah.
Ancelotti was also asked whether he was understandably fed up with the attention surrounding Vinicius.
“Everyone thinks what he or she wants. When we talk about Vinicius' provocations, we divert attention from the insults he receives,” Ancelotti noted, before saying again that they were happy with the Brazilian.
Los Blancos will take on RCD Mallorca in the semi-final of the Spanish Super Cup on Thursday evening at 8pm, hoping to reach the final on Sunday. When they return, they will draw at home in the Copa del Rey against Celta Vigo.
The Competition Commission did respond to Real Madrid's accusations that racism provoked Vinicius, noting that they did not justify his response. La Liga did not include any racist insults in their match report, in which they did mention ten other songs about Real Madrid.
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