MADRID: Vinícius Júnior was subjected to racist abuse yet again on Sunday with the Brazil star saying the Spanish league “now belongs to racists.”
The latest abuse against Vinícius came in Real Madrid’s 1-0 loss at Valencia, a match that had to be temporarily stopped after the Brazil forward said he was insulted by a fan behind one of the goals at Mestalla Stadium.
“It wasn’t the first time, or the second or the third. Racism is normal in LaLiga. The competition thinks it’s normal, as does the federation, and the opponents encourage it,” Vinícius said on Instagram and Twitter. “The league that once belonged to Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Cristiano (Ronaldo) and (Lionel) Messi now belongs to racists ... But I’m strong and I will fight until the end against the racists. Even if far from here.”
The 22-year-old Vinícius, who is Black, has been subjected to racist abuse since moving to Spain five years ago.
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti considered replacing the star forward after Vinícius said fans at Mestalla chanted “monkey” toward him. He said Vinícius initially didn’t want to continue playing.
“What happened today shouldn’t happen,” Ancelotti said. “When a stadium yells ‘monkey’ to a player, and the coach considers taking him out of the field because of that, it means that there is something bad in this league.”
The veteran coach refused to talk about the game after what happened, saying his team’s loss meant nothing.
“The game should have been stopped,” Ancelotti said. “This shouldn’t happen. It wasn’t only one person, as it has happened in several stadiums. Here, it was a stadium racially insulting a player, the game had to stop. I would have said the same thing if it was 3-0 for us. You have to stop the game, there was no way around it.”
Ancelotti said he asked the referee to stop the match, but was told that the protocol was to first make an announcement to fans, then take other action if the problem continued.
Ancelotti said Vinícius didn’t want to keep playing but he told the player that he wasn’t guilty of anything and that he was the victim. Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said he would have left the field with Vinicius if his teammate had decided to stop playing.
“Vinícius is upset, obviously, but more than upset, he is sad,” Ancelotti said.
According to Spanish media reports, Valencia has identified two fans who allegedly insulted Vinícius behind one of the goals.
Some comments on social media claimed fans were saying the Spanish word “tonto” (silly) instead of “mono” (monkey).
Valencia later said it expected Ancelotti to apologize to Valencia fans for accusing them of racism after misunderstanding what was said. The coach told a news conference that the referee wouldn’t have started the racism protocol if he didn’t think there was racism in the stadium.
Vinícius was later sent off after an altercation with Valencia players, and gestured to home fans about their team’s fight against relegation as he left the field. Valencia took a huge step toward avoiding the drop with the 1-0 victory opening a five-point gap to the bottom three teams entering the final three rounds.
“The reward for the racists was my ejection!” Vinícius said on Instagram, along with the Spanish league’s slogan “It’s not soccer, it’s LaLiga.”
Vinícius had called the referee around the 70th minute and started pointing to a person sitting among the Valencia supporters. The player went near the stands and confronted the fans while players from both teams tried to restore calm.
Police eventually arrived in the stands to deal with the supporters. An announcement was made asking fans to behave.
The match at Mestalla was stopped for about seven minutes, and not long after it resumed Vinícius clashed with Valencia players and was sent off for pushing one of his opponents away with a hand to his face.
After the decision of his ejection was made following a video review, Vinícius started applauding ironically. As he was leaving the field, he made a “going down” gesture over relegation. That upset players on the Valencia bench and some charged toward Vinícius as he left the field, causing the game to be temporarily stopped again.
Valencia coach Rubén Baraja condemned the behavior of Valencia fans but also criticized Vinícius, saying he should have respected the club and its supporters.
Vinícius’ teammate Dani Ceballos criticized the fans but said he also expected Vinícius to apologize for his gestures after being sent off.
Ancelotti said Vinícius’ reaction was normal considering what he had gone through moments earlier.
The Spanish league said it has requested images from the game to investigate what happened. It will also probe possible insults against Vinícius outside Mestalla, when a large group of fans also allegedly called the player a monkey as the Madrid bus arrived.
League president Javier Tebas criticized Vinícius for attacking the league without fully understanding what it has done recently to combat racism, and saying the player didn’t show up for talks on the subject that he had requested himself.
The league has made nine formal complaints over racist abuse against Vinícius over the last two seasons, with many of the cases being shelved. A Mallorca fan may end up going on trial after allegedly racially insulting the Brazilian during a game.
The first trial against a fan accused of racial abuse in Spanish professional soccer is expected to happen at some point this year in a case involving Athletic Bilbao forward Iñaki Williams, who was insulted by an Espanyol supporter in a match in 2020.
Vinicius Junior says Spanish league ‘now belongs to racists’ after enduring more abuse
https://arab.news/gv5wx
Vinicius Junior says Spanish league ‘now belongs to racists’ after enduring more abuse
- The 22-year-old Vinícius, who is Black, has been subjected to racist abuse since moving to Spain five years ago
NEOM SC promoted to SPL after beating Al-Arabi 3-0 in Saudi 1st Division
- A brace by Ahmad Abdo, and a goal by Saeed Bin Rahma were enough to promote the Tabuk-based club to first-tier SPL
RIYADH: NEOM Sports Club were promoted to the Roshn Saudi Pro League on Tuesday after defeating Al-Arabi Club 3-0 in the Saudi First Division.
A brace by Ahmad Abdo, and a goal by Saeed Bin Rahma were enough to promote the Tabuk-based club from the second tier of Saudi football to the first-tier SPL.
Celebrating their promotion after their win, NEOM said on X: “With the determination of heroes, we made history. Officially, Neom Sports Club is promoted to the Roshn League.”
Italy’s Serie A fixtures rescheduled due to Pope Francis’ funeral
- Lazio were to play Parma in Rome on Saturday, which has been rescheduled for Monday
- Serie A postponed Monday’s matches after the Pope’s death
ROME: Italy’s top-flight Serie A soccer league has postponed Saturday’s three fixtures until Sunday due to Pope Francis’ funeral being held that day in Rome, it said on Tuesday.
Earlier media reports had suggested that Serie A might make an exception for Inter Milan’s clash with visitors AS Roma to allow Simone Inzaghi’s side additional rest time ahead of their midweek Champions League semifinal at Barcelona.
But the league has confirmed that the game at San Siro will now kick off at 1500 local time (1300 GMT) on Sunday.
Pope Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, died on Monday aged 88. His funeral will be held at St. Peter’s Square in front of the Basilica of St. Peter before the burial in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.
Lazio were to play Parma in Rome on Saturday, which has been rescheduled for Monday at 2045 (1845 GMT), while Como’s home game with Genoa has been moved to Sunday at 1230 (1030 GMT).
Serie A postponed Monday’s matches after the Pope’s death, with the games rescheduled for Wednesday, and on Tuesday Italy’s National Olympic Committee (CONI) called for the suspension of all sporting events scheduled for Saturday.
Chances of Alonso staying in Leverkusen ‘50-50’, says CEO
- Carro told reporters that “my gut feeling is that it’s 50-50” Alonso would stay
- “If a team he has played for comes, we would sit down and discuss it and we wouldn’t stand in his way”
MADRID: Bayer Leverkusen CEO Fernando Carro said Monday the club had a 50-50 chance of holding onto manager Xabi Alonso amid rumored links between the coach and Real Madrid.
Carro also revealed the club had a “gentlemen’s agreement” with Alonso, allowing him to leave to coach one of the clubs he played for as a player for a fee.
Alonso, who played for Real and last year took Leverkusen to an unbeaten league and cup double, has been linked with the top job at the Bernabeu, with current coach Carlo Ancelotti rumored to be headed for the exit.
Speaking ahead of the Laureus Sports Awards, where the club is nominated for breakthrough of the year after their debut Bundesliga win last season, Carro told reporters that “my gut feeling is that it’s 50-50” Alonso would stay.
“Xabi has no exit clause, but we have a gentleman’s agreement. If a team he has played for comes, we would sit down and discuss it and we wouldn’t stand in his way,” he said.
Carro said the club “needs clarity” and “the decision needs to be in the next three or four weeks. We cannot wait until the end of the season.”
“We are not naive, the position of the coach is very important for a club and it is true that we are preparing for next season with him.
“We have worked with him every day; he is fully committed to this preparation.”
After winning the title last season, Leverkusen have fallen back slightly and sit eight points behind league leaders Bayern Munich with four games remaining.
Leverkusen were eliminated from the Champions League by Bayern and were knocked out in the semifinals of the German Cup by third-division Arminia Bielefeld
Despite the drop off, the club is still on track for its second best points total.
Carro also said he believed star midfielder Florian Wirtz, 21, “has a contract until 2027 and I believe he will play for us next year.”
Norwich sack Thorup and name Wilshere as interim coach
- Norwich lost 3-1 at Millwall on Monday
- “Jack Wilshere ... will take charge of the first team on an interim basis ” Norwich said
LONDON: Norwich City have sacked Danish manager Johannes Hoff Thorup following a poor run of results and appointed his assistant and former England midfielder Jack Wilshere as interim coach until the end of the season, the Championship club said on Tuesday.
Norwich lost 3-1 at Millwall on Monday and have slipped to 14th place in the second-tier table with 53 points.
Sporting Director Ben Knapper said: “Whilst we made this appointment with a long-term focus and in line with our wider club strategy and direction, unfortunately recent results and performances have deemed it necessary for us make a change.
“Jack Wilshere ... will take charge of the first team on an interim basis for our two remaining Championship fixtures” Norwich added on their website.
The 33-year-old former Arsenal player Wilshere has been assistant coach at Norwich since October 2024.
The Pope with ‘two left feet’ who loved the ‘beautiful game’
- Messi: A different Pope, close, Argentinian... Rest in peace, Pope Francis
- His love of football was inseparable from his loyalty to the San Lorenzo club in Buenos Aires, where he went to watch matches with his father and brothers
VATICAN CITY: His predecessor loved Mozart, but Pope Francis’s passion was football — for him “the most beautiful game” and also a vehicle to educate and spread peace.
From Argentine compatriots Lionel Messi and the late Diego Maradona to Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Gianluigi Buffon, Francis received the greatest stars of football at the Vatican, signing dozens of shirts and balls from around the world.
And the admiration flowed both ways. Following news of the Pope’s death on Monday at the age of 88, Messi took to Instagram to pay tribute.
“A different Pope, close, Argentinian... Rest in peace, Pope Francis,” the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner posted. “Thank you for making the world a better place. We will miss you.”
Francis often recounted playing as a young boy on the streets of Buenos Aires, using a ball made of rags.
While admitting he was “not among the best” and that “he had two left feet,” he often played as goalkeeper, which he said was a good way of learning how to respond to “dangers that could arrive from anywhere.”
His love of football was inseparable from his loyalty to the San Lorenzo club in Buenos Aires, where he went to watch matches with his father and brothers.
“It was romantic football,” he recalled.
He maintained his membership even after becoming pope — and caused a minor uproar when he received a membership card from rivals Boca Juniors as part of a Vatican educational partnership.
Francis kept up to date with the club’s progress thanks to one of the Vatican’s Swiss Guards, who would leave results and league tables on his desk.
On Monday, San Lorenzo’s home page showed a large photo of a smiling pope under the club’s blue-and-red striped emblem, and the words: “Goodbye forever, Holy Father!”
Football is often compared to a religion for its fans, and Francis held numerous giant masses in football stadiums during trips abroad.
French Bishop Emmanuel Gobilliard, the Vatican delegate for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, said he understood the crucial role played by football.
“Whether you are an amateur or professional footballer, whether you like to watch it on television, it makes no difference: this sport is part of people’s lives,” he said.
But it was not just an end in itself — Francis, a Jesuit, also saw football as a way of spreading peace and education, despite the money and corruption linked to the sport.
In 2014, the Olympic stadium in Rome hosted an “inter-religious match” for peace at his initiative.
“Many say that football is the most beautiful game in the world. I think so too,” Francis declared in 2019.
As early as 2013, addressing the Italian and Argentine teams, Francis reminded players of their “social responsibilities” and warned against the excesses of “business” football.
The pontiff’s love for the game inspired a scene in a film “The Two Popes,” in which former pope Benedict XVI and then-cardinal Jorge Bergoglio watch the 2014 World Cup final between their two countries, Germany and Argentina.
It was pure fiction, as the soon-to-be Francis gave up watching television in 1990 — the year West Germany beat Argentina in the World Cup final hosted by Italy — while his predecessor preferred classical music and reading.
His enthusiasm for football said UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin on Monday bore “witness to a joyful spirit and his ability to connect with people through warmth and a sense of shared humanity.”
Francis never mentioned the 1978 World Cup in Argentina, which took place in the midst of a dictatorship when he was a provincial leader of the Jesuits.
But he dedicated an entire chapter of his 2024 autobiography to Maradona, whose infamous “hand of God” goal helped Argentina beat England in their 1986 World Cup quarterfinal clash.
“When, as pope, I received Maradona in the Vatican a few years ago... I asked him, jokingly, ‘So, which is the guilty hand?’” he said in 2024.
And asked once who was the game’s greatest player, Maradona or Lionel Messi, the pope hedged his bets.
“Maradona, as a player, was great. But as a man, he failed,” Francis said, referring to his addictions to cocaine and alcohol.
He described Messi as a “gentleman,” but added that he would choose a third, Pele, “a man of heart.”
