Real Madrid will be without Vinicius Junior for the Spanish Super Cup unless Los Blancos are successful in their appeal after he was handed a third red card of his career. After Valencia goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski leaned over him and told him to get up, Vinicius did so and shoved him in the face.
The Brazilian was also sent off the field at the Mestalla two seasons ago after horrific racist insults from the stands. Vinicius received no shortage of insults on Friday night, Marca reports, although none were racist, and the crowd chanted “idiot” and “beach ball” at him several times, leading to Vinicius sticking up two fingers at the crowd – don't flip the bird but rather tell the Valencia fans that they were heading to Segunda.
During the second half, however, his protests against the referee increased, and Vinicius' fuse grew shorter and shorter until he was sent off. After the red card was handed out, he was restrained by Antonio Rudiger and a staff member, who quickly arrived on the scene to prevent him from going to the referee. The reason for this is that they knew it could happen – Vinicius had said at half-time: 'I am overwhelmed, there is a lot of tension'.
Relevo are the second source to outline Martin Zubimendi as a #RealMadrid objective this summer. pic.twitter.com/7wcXpfJjdc
— Football España (@footballespana_) January 6, 2025
After the match, manager Carlo Ancelotti defended him, commenting that he thought it was a yellow card rather than a red. He would then say on Sunday that it was difficult to be in Vinicius' position and that he is trying and has improved his behavior, whatever the dressing room believes. Marca notes that the only major change in Vinicius is that for the first time Vinicius shows signs of exhaustion due to the climate he is playing in, rather than a desire to fight.
This is a change in tone from previous reporting from the local press, which has previously noted that in some cases Vinicius even seeks confrontation to blow himself up, and then uses it as fuel for his motivation. It does not seem unconnected to the fact that in the last seven months all the major newspapers in the Spanish football press have run stories that the 'atmosphere' that surrounds him in La Liga could lead to him leaving the club to work in Saudi -to play in Arabia, where the regime is present there. I would like to break the bank to sign the player who many consider to be the best in the world.
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