Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr says ‘La Liga belongs to the racists’ after being hit with racist chants in Valencia

Earlier in the match, an irate Vinicius tried to get a Valencia fan to the referee’s attention.

“The championship that once belonged to Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Cristiano and Messi today belongs to racists,” he wrote on Instagram.

“It’s not the first time, it’s not the second time, it’s not the third time. Racism is normal in La Liga. The competition thinks it’s normal, the federation thinks it’s normal and the opponents encourage it.

“A beautiful country, it welcomes me, I love it, but it agrees to export to the world the image of a racist country. I’m sorry for those Spaniards who disagree, but today, in Brazil, Spain is known as a race country of activists.

“Unfortunately, I have no defense for what happens every week. I agree. But I am strong and I will fight racists to the end. Even if it is far from here.”

La Liga said in a statement that it “has been fighting this type of behavior for many years and promoting the positive values ​​of sport both on and off the pitch”.

“Racist slurs chanted throughout the stadium”

The Brazilian striker has been the target of racist abuse on several occasions in La Liga this season.

The game was briefly suspended in the second half as the Real Madrid striker reacted angrily to the incident in the stands.

He was enraged from that moment on and was sent off for the first time in La Liga for being involved in an altercation between players from both teams.

His manager, Carlo Ancelotti, said the game should be stopped because of the abuse directed at his players.

“What we saw today is unacceptable. The whole stadium was chanting racist slurs,” the Italian said.

“I don’t want to talk about football today, it doesn’t make any sense to talk about football today. I told the referee he should stop the game.

“La Liga has a problem. For me, Vinicius is the most important player in the world. La Liga has a problem, these racist incidents have to stop the game.

“The whole stadium was insulting a player with racist chants and the game had to stop. If we had won 3-0 I would have said the same, there was no choice.”

Ancelotti said Vinicius’ reaction was “understandable” in the circumstances.

“I asked him if he wanted to continue playing and he stayed in the game,” added the former Milan midfielder.

“Vinicius is sad, he’s angry. In the world we live in, things like this can’t happen.”

La Liga said it would investigate the incident, while Valencia condemned the incident in a statement on their website and confirmed they would investigate.

“Valencia Club wishes to publicly condemn any form of insult, attack or disqualification in football,” the statement read.

“The club, committed to the values ​​of respect and sport, publicly reiterates its position against physical and verbal violence in the stadium and regrets the incident that occurred.

“Although this is an isolated incident, insulting any player of an opposing team has no place in football and is not in keeping with the values ​​and identity of Valencia CF.

“The club is investigating what happened and will take the strictest possible measures.”

La Liga said it would take “appropriate legal action” if any hate crimes were discovered, and called on people to submit any relevant footage.

The statement said it had been proactive following previous racist abuse against Vinicius and had filed nine reports with Spanish legal authorities over the past two seasons.

Former England and Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand questioned how much support Vinicius has received in an Instagram post.

“Brother, you need protection… who is protecting little Vinicius of Spain?” he wrote.

“How many times do we need to see this young man tortured like this? I see the pain, I see the disgust, I see him needing help … but the authorities are not helping him.

“People need to stand together and demand more from the authorities who run our game.

“No one deserves it, but you allow it. There needs to be a unified approach to this, or it will be swept under the rug again.”

Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said he heard some “monkey noises” after 20 minutes and said he would leave with Vinicius if his team-mates opted to stop the game.

“If Pooh wants to play, we’ll play, but if Pooh says he’s not playing anymore, I’ll leave the pitch with him because we don’t tolerate these things,” Courtois told Movistar.

Edenardo Rodriguez, president of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), also expressed his disgust at the incident.

“How much longer are we going to be in the mid-21st century like we just witnessed again in La Liga?” he wrote in a statement posted by the CBF on Instagram.

“How long will humanity remain mere bystanders and accomplices in the brutality of racism?”

In the 33rd minute, Diego Lopez scored the only goal for the home team.