An emotional Carlo Ancelotti clashed with Spanish journalists after hitting out at the disgusting racist abuse suffered by Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior in Sunday’s LaLiga clash at Valencia.
The match was paused by the referee after Vinicius pointed out the supporters who were taunting him with ‘monkey’ chants to the referee. The Brazil international was visibly on the verge of tears on the pitch and was clearly incensed, with teammates attempting to quell his anger.
Vinicius was later sent off for violent conduct in added time of his side's 1-0 defeat following an altercation with Valencia striker Hugo Duro – the first red card of his career. Vinicius struck out at his opponent, who had him in a headlock but escaped punishment following a VAR review.
After the match, Vinicius wrote on a statement via his social media accounts: "It wasn't the first time, not the second and not the third. Racism is normal in La Liga. The competition thinks it's normal, so does the Federation (Spanish FA) and the opponents encourage it. I am so sorry."
Vinicius has been the subject of racist abuse across multiple Real Madrid away matches this season. La Liga have opened criminal proceedings against supporters for hate crimes against the Brazilian on ten separate occasions this season, with Sunday’s game at the Mestalla the latest.
Earlier this season, an effigy of Vinicius in a Real Madrid shirt was hung from a bridge by a group of Atletico Madrid fans outside his club’s training facilities.
His Real Madrid boss Ancelotti was furious after Sundays match, telling Spanish broadcaster Movistar: “I don’t want to talk about football, not today. I need to talk about something much more important.”
The Italian continued: “We have a problem. La Liga has a problem. Wee need to stop this game. Any game. I would say the same thing if we were winning 3-0. I have never seen a whole stadium being racist and shouting 'monkey, monkey, monkey.’
At this point, the Spanish TV interview cut in: “Yeah but what about his own reaction…,” to which Ancelotti responded: “There is no BUT. There is no BUT.”
The behaviour of Vinicius was also curiously and worryingly compared to the racist abuse he was receiving by the co-commentator on La Liga TV’s international broadcast stream in English, which was broadcast in the UK.
“He is telling the Valencia fans they are going to the second division (as he was being sent-off),” the co-commentator explains after the incident, before adding: “We should stand against racism but we should also say that he is not an angel. He is not perfect. Sometimes he provokes the other teams.
“After the racial abuse, we cannot say he is a saint. He is always making mistakes.”
In his post-match press conference, Ancelotti’s stance over the racist abuse was questioned by a journalist. The Madrid boss was asked: "Since you've previously had problems with the (Spanish) language, I'll clarify it for you. Mestalla wasn't chanting 'monkey' (mono), they were chanting 'silly' (tonto). It's a serious accusation to say a whole stadium was racist."
Ancelotti furiously responded: "Whether it was 'mono' or 'tonto', the referee stopped the game to open the racism protocol. He wouldn't do that if they just chanted 'tonto'. Speak to the referee."
The Madrid boss also said at his post-match press conference: “I spoke with Vinicius during the game because the atmosphere was really hot, very bad. I asked him if he would like to continue playing.
“The fact that he thought I have to remove him because of the racist environment – that is not good.
“I have brought players off because they are not playing well but I have never had to bring a player off because of racism.
“What happened today has happened many times before but not like today. This is unacceptable. La Liga has a problem. And it is not Vinicius. Vinicius is the victim. The league’s problem is incredibly serious.”
He added: “When he got the red card, the whole stadium was shouting ‘monkey, monkey, monkey’, there is nothing else to say.
“I am very sad because this has never happened to me before – not like this. I never thought about substituting a player off because of racism. He is young and wants to play football. It is complicated.
“Now, on Wednesday, our fans will not be able to watch him because of the red card. He was sent off as VAR invented a situation that did not exist. He was put in a headlock and the player was not punished. Vinicius tried to free himself and was sent off.”
