Vinicius Jr. has reignited his long-standing feud with Mallorca star Pablo Maffeo in a spirited Super Cup match at the Bernabeu on Thursday evening.
The Real Madrid superstar and the defender have a history, having first clashed during a meeting in the 2021/22 season when Los Blancos faced their LaLiga counterparts.
The Brazil international faced a tough challenge from Maffeo and although the pair were thought to have reconciled, tempers flared during the cup tie as Carlo Ancelotti's side claimed a 3-0 win.
It took just ten minutes for the contact paper to ignite between the two, after Maffeo tried to throw the striker off balance with some early, overzealous man-marking.
In an attempt to fend him off, Vinicius waved a hand at the defender's chest, prompting him to go to the ground in an attempt to commit a foul.
On the pitch, Jude Bellingham tried to see Maffeo punished for what he believed was a dive, with Real Madrid's substitutes' bench also outraged and keen to shift referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea's attention to signing the Mallorca player .
De Burgos Bengoetxa instead spoke to both players before waving on, but Vinicus is said to have warned Maffeo about his behavior in the first half as the two teams headed to half-time.
Ancelotti's son Davide – Real's assistant coach – is said to have intervened quickly, but could not completely solve his player's bad blood.
Shortly after Jude Bellingham's 63rd minute, Vinicius was captured on camera challenging Maffeo and telling him he was 'terrible' in Spanish.
“Go back home,” he said repeatedly, before Ancelotti on the sidelines grilled the Ballon d'Or nominee for his own behavior.
Vinicius was later subbed off in favor of Brahim Diaz, but it was not enough to stop the hosts thwarting Maffeo after the final whistle, as Raul Ascencio was withdrawn by Ancelotti in an attempt to stop him from getting a late booking.
Ahead of the draw, Maffeo appeared keen to fan the flames of controversy with an appearance in a podcast interview in which he claimed he would confidently face the winger in a boxing ring.
“It would be a spectacle in itself, but I think I would knock him out in ten seconds,” Maffeo told the presenter via beIN sports.
But for all their competitive bluster, Maffeo is among those who have publicly thrown their weight behind Vinicius' ongoing battle against racist attitudes in Spanish football.
The Real Madrid star has often been the target of racist gestures and booing from the Bernabéu, and has been an outspoken critic of what he believes is inherent racism in Spanish football.
While Maffeo disagreed on the last point, he said the player “did the right thing by speaking out.”
'These attitudes (to which Vinicius is exposed) must be condemned because they affect everything.'
Supercopa semi-final victory in Riyadh sets up another El Clasico meeting between Real Madrid and their hated rivals Barcelona after Hansi Flick's side defeated Athletic Club 2-0 on Wednesday evening.
The match will be played in Saudi Arabia on Sunday.
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