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
Germany off to winning start after beating Poland 1-0 in Women’s Euro 2025
- Germany are one of three big contenders for overall victory in Switzerland alongside world champions Spain and holders England
- Peter Gerhardsson’s team are now unbeaten in 13 games after a second straight win over the Danes, with Sweden running out emphatic 6-1 winners in the Nations League last month
ST. GALLEN, Switzerland: Germany made a winning start to their Women’s Euro 2025 campaign with Friday’s 2-0 win over Poland which moved the eight-time continental champions top of Group C.
Christian Wueck’s side lead Sweden, 1-0 winners in a Scandinavian derby with Denmark, on goal difference after coming through a hard-fought group opener in St. Gallen thanks to goals in the second half from Jule Brand and Lea Schueller.
Germany are one of three big contenders for overall victory in Switzerland alongside world champions Spain and holders England.
But the “Frauenteam” were far from their best for most of the match, with Wueck frequently bellowing at his charges to up their game.
And they lost captain Giulia Gwinn to what looked like a knee injury before half-time following a nasty fall in a challenge with Ewa Pajor.
“She’s injured her knee and will undergo an MRI tomorrow, at which point we’ll know what’s happened,” said Wueck.
“It was a tough, hard-fought victory. Poland made it very, very difficult for us with their style of play... We’re happy with the result and we know that we can do better.”
Germany had won all six previous encounters with Poland but the game was even until Brand cut inside and unleashed an unstoppable shot six minutes after half-time.
And Brand was on hand in the 66th minute with a perfect cross for Bayern Munich striker Schueller, who made sure of the points with a simple header.
Germany have now won six matches on the bounce, scoring 26 goals in that run, but looked some way below the standard shown by tournament favorites Spain on Thursday, with England facing France on Saturday.
Poland acquitted themselves admirably in their European Championship debut but Barcelona’s Pajor, who has scored 51 goals for club and country this season, was uncharacteristically wasteful with her finishing.
Pajor walloped a great chance at Germany goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger just before Schueller doubled Germany’s lead and did the same with a close-range header with nine minutes remaining.
Filippa Angeldahl scored Sweden’s winner in the 55th minute in Geneva after exchanging passes with Kosovare Asllani and firing into the far corner.
Sweden should have doubled their lead 10 minutes later when Madelen Janogy headed Hanna Lundkvist’s pinpoint cross narrowly wide, while moments before Stina Blackstenius was denied by Frederikke Thogersen’s brilliant goalline clearance.
“It was an enormous sense of joy and relief. There are so many nerves when you start a tournament that it was a wonderful feeling to score that goal,” Angeldahl told reporters.
Peter Gerhardsson’s team are now unbeaten in 13 games after a second straight win over the Danes, with Sweden running out emphatic 6-1 winners in the Nations League last month.
Sweden kept a tight handle on Denmark’s skipper Pernille Harder, although she did smash an effort off the crossbar with nine minutes remaining.
The Bayern Munich forward was also involved when VAR decided not to award a penalty to Denmark in the opening minutes for a potential handball by Madelen Janogy, who was marking Parder.
Fluminense beat Al Hilal 2-1 to reach Club World Cup semis
ORLANDO: Substitute Hercules struck a 70th-minute winner as Brazil’s Fluminense defeated Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal 2-1 on Friday to reach the semifinals of the Club World Cup.
A fine left-foot finish from Matheus Martinelli had put the Rio club ahead in the 40th minute but Al Hilal’s Brazilian forward Marcos Leonardo levelled six minutes into the second half before Hercules stole the show to the delight of the vast majority of the 43,091 crowd.
Fluminense could yet face an all-Brazilian semifinal if their rivals from Sao Paulo, Palmeiras, are able to overcome Premier League outfit Chelsea in Friday’s other quarter-final.
Al Hilal had pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament, beating Manchester City 4-3, to reach the last eight and Simone Inzaghi’s side fought hard until the end to keep their adventure alive.
They bow out of the tournament having been unbeaten through the group stage, including holding Real Madrid to a draw, and having truly made their mark on the world stage.
There was a moment’s silence before the kick-off in memory of Liverpool and Portugal forward Diogo Jota and his younger brother Andre Silva, who died in the early hours of Thursday after their car veered off a motorway in Spain and burst into flames.
Al Hilal’s line-up featured two of Jota’s Portugal team-mates in Ruben Neves and Joao Cancelo.
The first half was a tight and tactical affair with few chances until Martinelli opened the scoring when he picked the ball up from Gabriel Fuentes inside the box and span out to give himself space for a left-foot shot that rocketed past Yassine Bounou.
Al Hilal went close to a quick response when Kalidou Koulibaly’s header forced Fluminense’s 44-year-old goalkeeper Fabio into a fine save.
The Saudi side were awarded a penalty when Samuel Xavier was ruled to have brought down Marcos Leonardo in the box but Dutch referee Danny Makkelie was eventually sent to the monitor where he overturned his own decision after seeing there had been no contact between the two players.
After going in at the break trailing by a goal, Al Hilal came out strongly for the second half and drew level when Koulibaly headed a Neves corner down to Marcos Leonardo who poked home.
Al Hilal’s Brazilian full back Renan Lodi had a let off when his poor backpass fell straight at the feet of German Cano but the Fluminense striker’s attempt to round Bounou was denied by the smart work of the Moroccan keeper.
But the outcome was settled with 20 minutes remaining when half-time sub Hercules saw a shot from distance blocked but from the loose ball Samuel headed the ball back to the forward who raced into the box and fired past Bounou to make it 2-1.
Al Hilal produced a flurry of corners and some intense pressure in the final minutes as they desperately sought a way to keep their dream alive but the Brazilians were good value for their victory.
“We didn’t have many chances but we made the most of them, the entire group worked and were committed,” said Fluminense coach Renato Gaucho.
“Our fans here in the USA and those in Brazil, they can be proud and I ask them to wear a jersey, in the mall, street, beach, wherever, wear that shirt — they should all be proud to wear that jersey,” he said.
The Fluminense coach was full of praise for the performance of his 40-year-old central defender Thiago Silva who ensured the Brazilians were able to withstand the second half pressure from Al Hilal.
“Thiago Silva is huge for us, I worked with him 15 years ago, he is a coach on the pitch, very helpful and conveys calm and experience to the others. He is our captain and a leader and in hard matches like these against big clubs, its important to have people like him. He is key and fundamental,” he said.
Al Hilal coach Inzaghi said his side had been unfortunate to end on the losing side.
“It has been a good World Cup for us but clearly we leave with a little bit of a bitter taste in our mouth because after what happened in that second half, we deserved much more,” he said.
“It was a tight match, decided by episodes, as happens in football. Fluminense are very well organized team that are having an excellent tournament,” he added.
“A Beautiful Gift“: Swiss women pioneers celebrate the game’s transformation
- The mascot of the tournament, a Saint Bernard puppy, bears her name, Maddli, in recognition of her role in advancing women’s football in Switzerland
- There are now 40,000 registered women players and 134 female referees in Switzerland, according to the Swiss FA
SION, Switzerland: On the terrace of a restaurant in the Swiss city of Sion sits a group of pioneers of women’s football in Switzerland who have seen the beautiful game change beyond recognition.
For 72-year-old Madeleine Boll, seeing the city in the French-speaking part of Switzerland hosting three games in the Women’s European Championship, which is being staged across the country, is a proud moment.
The mascot of the tournament, a Saint Bernard puppy, bears her name, Maddli, in recognition of her role in advancing women’s football in Switzerland.
At 12 years old in 1965, Boll became the first woman in Switzerland to obtain a license to play football, with FC Sion’s boys’ youth team. But just months later it was taken away from her after the club said it had made an error.
“I was the happiest little girl. But the day they took away my license, I was the unhappiest because I didn’t understand why I was forbidden to play,” Boll told Reuters.
However, it marked the first in a series of landmark moments that enabled women’s inclusion in Swiss football.
By 1970 the first Swiss Women’s Football League was created, with Boll’s father, Jean Boll, its president. Madeleine later played for FC Sion, one of the earliest women’s football clubs in Switzerland.
“It’s a beautiful gift because it’s here that the beginnings of Swiss women’s football took root,” she said.
KEY MOMENT
A lot has changed since Boll and her generation played. There are now 40,000 registered women players and 134 female referees in Switzerland, according to the Swiss FA.
“It was different. We didn’t have jerseys, we didn’t have means to travel ... We had to make people understand that we are capable of playing,” said 72-year-old Rosemarie Siggen, from Sion who started playing football toward the end of the 1960s.
For Siggen and Boll, who were joined by four other footballing pioneers in the women’s game in Sion, this year’s tournament is a key moment to make strides in supporting women’s football.
“The Euros will be a catalyst,” Boll told Reuters, pointing to it as an opportunity for greater investment in the women’s game.
The Swiss hosts are hoping the legacy of the tournament — being played across eight cities over the next month — will bolster female football in the country as Euro 2022 did for champions England. It is aiming to double the number of female players by 2027, according to the Swiss FA.
“It’s a bit difficult for these young girls. They need help. I think there should be stronger support, a real investment ... we want to see them progress because they can bring many beautiful things,” said Siggen.
Boll hopes that the Switzerland side, who lost their first match of the tournament 2-1 to Norway, can continue to make strides with more financial support.
“If we want to have a good Swiss team ... it will be important that girls become professional because it is difficult ... to achieve results while having a job or being a student,” Boll said.
UEFA, the governing body for European soccer, announced a record 600,000 tickets have been sold for the tournament. Basel will host the final on July 27 at St. Jakob-Park, the largest football stadium in Switzerland.
Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah ‘truly lost for words’ after Diogo Jota death
- ‘Teammates come and go but not like this,’ Salah wrote on X
- Jota and brother Andre Silva died when Lamborghini they were in veered off a road and burst into flames
BEIRUT: Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah paid tribute to his teammate Diogo Jota on Friday, after the Portuguese international died in a car crash on Thursday in northern Spain.
“I am truly lost for words. Until yesterday, I never thought there would be something that would frighten me of going back to Liverpool after the break,” Salah said on social media platform X.
Jota perished alongside his brother, Andre Silva, when the Lamborghini they were in veered off a road and burst into flames, Spanish police said Thursday.
Having been teammates since Jota joined the Premier League champions in 2020, Salah wrote on X: “Teammates come and go but not like this. It’s going to be extremely difficult to accept that Diogo won’t be there when we go back.
“My thoughts are with his wife, his children, and of course his parents who suddenly lost their children. Those close to Diogo and his brother Andre need all the support they can get. They will never be forgotten.”
Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said he was “heartbroken” to learn about Jota’s death.
Klopp, who is Red Bull’s head of global soccer, had persuaded the Liverpool board to pay $62 million for Jota after he impressed at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
“This is a moment where I struggle! There must be a bigger purpose! But I can’t see it! I’m heartbroken to hear about the passing of Diogo and his brother Andre. Diogo was not only a fantastic player, but also a great friend, a loving and caring husband and father!” Klopp posted on Instagram.
The Spanish Guardia Civil said 28-year-old Jota and 25-year-old Silva were found dead near the northwestern city of Zamora. Jota’s death comes just weeks after he married his long-time partner, Rute Cardoso, while on vacation from a long season where he helped Liverpool win the Premier League title.
Upon getting married, Cardoso wrote in a social media post, “Yes to forever.” He leaves behind three children, the youngest born last year.
Russian foreign minister praises Al-Hilal’s ‘well-deserved’ win over Man City
- Sergey Lavrov hails victory in meeting with Saudi FM Prince Faisal bin Farhan
- SPL team will play Fluminense in quarterfinal of Club World Cup on Friday
BEIRUT: Russia’s foreign minister on Friday congratulated Saudi Arabia and Al-Hilal following the team’s defeat of Manchester City in their FIFA Club World Cup round of 16 match earlier in the week.
“It was a remarkable and dramatic match and well-deserved victory,” Sergey Lavrov said during a meeting with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan in Moscow.
“I would like to conclude with congratulations to your football team Al-Hilal on a 4-3 win against Manchester City at the Club World Cup,” he said.
The meeting was part of the prince’s official visit aimed at strengthening relations between the two countries.
Lavrov’s comments caused a buzz on social media. One Russian user said on X: “Saudi Al-Hilal shines even in the corridors of power in Moscow!”
Several major news outlets also reported on Lavrov’s comments.
Sports editor Essa Aljokm wrote on X: “Al-Hilal on the political table … A team that translated the support of the leadership and the state, may God protect them, into the giant Saudi sports project. This time, it’s Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister.”
Al-Hilal made history on Monday night when they beat the English Premier League giants in Orlando. The Saudi Pro League team will now play Fluminense in the quarterfinal of the Club World Cup on Friday.
The Brazilian side beat Inter Milan 2-0 earlier on Monday.
