Real Valladolid condemn Vinícius Júnior racist abuse

The fall-out from the match between Real Valladolid and Real Madrid – the last for both teams in 2022 – continues. After complaints about the officiating, mainly from Pucela head coach Pacheta, Los Blancos winger Vinícius Júnior was subjected to horrific racial abuse from a section of fans at Estadio José Zorrilla, which has prompted both LaLiga, who have been fiercely criticised by the Brazilian for failing to deal with the issue, and Valladolid to condemn the goings-on on Friday.

On Saturday, 24 hours after the game was played, Real Valladolid issued a statement in response to the one earlier published by LaLiga. In it, the club said that the abuse which came from the stands as Vinícius was substituted were “isolated incidents” and added four further points which included the total condemnation of “any form of racism” and an apology for the remarks, which were all captured from the same stand and shared on social media.

The videos show how a section of the crowd hurled various insults at the Madrid winger, including some which were xenophobic in nature, as he furiously left the field. “The club is, of course, willing to collaborate with LaLiga to carry out the necessary investigations, and reserves the right to take disciplinary measures in the event that there are season ticket holders involved in the incidents,” the statement explains.

“There is no room for racism in football or in society, and Real Valladolid is determined to implement more and more measures to raise awareness, prevent and combat any similar occurrences”, stated the club, which emphasised the “isolated” nature of what happened and that the events “do not represent the vast majority of Blanquivioleta fans, who are always respectful and create a wonderful atmosphere at Estadio José Zorrilla”.

What did Vinícius Júnior say?

Following the match, Vinícius, who has been racially abused on a number of occasions since joining Real Madrid, took to social media to criticise LaLiga for their lack of action when it comes to combatting racism.

“Racists continue to go to stadiums and watch the biggest club in the world up close and LaLiga continues to do nothing…I will continue with my head held high and celebrating my victories and those of Madrid. In the end, it’s MY fault.”

What did LaLiga say?

In light of Vinicius’ comments, LaLiga issued the following response on their website the afternoon after the game in an attempt to outline how they have tried, with great success it has to be said, to fight against the issue:

“In view of the post by Real Madrid player Vinicius Jr on his social media profiles, in which he alludes to the lack of action taken by LaLiga in the fight against racism, LaLiga has identified racist insults posted on social media by some individuals in the stands at the Estadio de Zorrilla. These offences will be reported to the Anti-Violence Commission and the Public Prosecutor’s Office for hate crimes, as has been done on other occasions when LaLiga, after investigating racist behaviour inside and outside stadiums, has taken the lead in the fight against this type of behaviour.

“LaLiga will continue to lead the fight against the scourge of racism, xenophobia and intolerance in sport, not only with words but also with actions, as demonstrated by the measures outlined above.

“LaLiga’s objective is zero violence in sport and to this end, different prevention, detection and reporting practices are carried out on each matchday, which are then reported to the State Commission against Violence, Racism, Xenophobia and Intolerance in Sport, as well as to the Public Prosecutor’s Office for Hate Crimes. In the same way, LaLiga denounces and takes legal action in any criminal proceedings related to violent acts occurring within the sphere of football.”

The full statement includes a list of various incidents of racist insults by fans towards players since the start of the 2018-19 season. You can read the full list here.