Valencia fined €45k for Vinicius racism, Kempes Stand shut for five games by Spanish FA

Valencia have been fined €45,000 and will have to close the stand where Vinicius Jr was racially abused for five games after a ruling by the Spanish FA.

The Mario Kempes stand, where the chants targeting Vinicius originated in Valencia’s 1-0 win on Sunday, will be closed for Valencia’s one remaining home game this season and the first four matches of next season.

Vinicius’ red card, issued in the wake of the abuse suffered in Valencia’s victory over Real Madrid on Sunday night, has also been overturned by the Spanish FA (RFEF).

In a statement, the RFEF said: “The Competition Committee has sanctioned Valencia CF with the partial closure of the Mestalla stadium for five matches, specifically the Mario Kempes South Stand, following the events that occurred during the match between the team and Real Madrid.

“It is considered proven that, as reflected by the referee in his report, there were racist shouts at Vinicius, altering the normal course of the match and the infractions are considered very serious.

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“In addition, an economic sanction of €45,000 is imposed on Valencia.

They added: “The RFEF Competition Committee considers that the referee’s assessment was determined by the omission of the entirety of the play that took place, which affected the refereeing decision.

“The fact that he was deprived of a decisive part of the facts led him to adopt an arbitrary decision. And this is because it was impossible for him to properly assess what happened.”

In its full report, the RFEF found proven that Vinicius was subject to racist abuse when the Real Madrid bus first arrived at the Mestalla.

During the game, it added he had objects thrown at him in the 71st minute from the Kempes Stand, before racist chanting followed in the 73rd minute – when the referee first alerted the match delegate to make an announcement over the PA system.

Seven arrested over separate Vinicius incidents

Spanish police have arrested seven men in connection with separate racist incidents aimed at Vinicius Junior.

Four were detained on suspicion of hanging an effigy of Vinicius from a bridge in Madrid in January, with police saying three of the men are a “radical group of fans of a Madrid group” that were previously flagged as “high risk”.

The effigy was hung on the morning of a Copa del Rey fixture between Real and city rivals Atletico Madrid, along with the words “Madrid hates Real”.

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Three other men were arrested in Valencia on Tuesday in connection with the racist abuse aimed at Vinicius during Real Madrid’s 1-0 defeat at the Mestalla on Sunday.

Real have reported the abuse as a hate crime, while the winger responded by saying LaLiga “belongs to the racists”.

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Vinicius was targeted by chants from sections of the crowd, with the game being stopped in the second half for 10 minutes as the visibly angry 22-year-old grabbed the referee and pointed towards fans who he felt had abused him.

He was later sent off for violent conduct in added time following an altercation with striker Hugo Duro.

The Brazil international has repeatedly been targeted with racist abuse, with LaLiga filing nine criminal complaints in the last two seasons.

On Tuesday, he took to Twitter to post a video from 1997 detailing racist attacks carried out by football fans in Spain, and captioned the post: “Racism in Spanish stadiums existed even before I was born.

“What has changed until today?”

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LaLiga has called for a change to Spanish law in order to be given sanctioning powers to help it fight racism more effectively.

At present, LaLiga can only identify and report cases, but will now seek an amendment to the law that also enables it to bring disciplinary action.

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Vinicius was absent from Real Madrid’s training on Tuesday morning as the club prepared for their home game against Rayo Vallecano

After the latest incident on Sunday, Vinicius tweeted: “It wasn’t the first time, nor the second, nor the third. Racism is normal in LaLiga. In football they think it’s normal, the federation does too – and the opponent encourages it.

“I’m so sad. The championship that once belonged to Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Cristiano (Ronaldo) and (Lionel) Messi today belongs to racism.

“A beautiful nation, which welcomed me and which I love, but which agreed to export the image of a racist country to the world.

“I’m sorry for the Spaniards who don’t agree but today, in Brazil, Spain is known as a country of racists. And unfortunately, for something that happens each week, I have no defence. I let it happen.

“But I am strong and I will go to the end against racists. Even if it is far from here.”

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South American football correspondent Tim Vickery, explains Brazil’s view on the situation between Vinicius and LaLiga following Sunday’s match between Real Madrid and Valencia

FIFA president Gianni Infantino told LaLiga to “stop talking, start acting” and demanded five points be enacted to improve the situation, including education in schools and banning those found guilty of racism from stadiums worldwide.

A statement from Real on Monday read: “Real Madrid strongly condemns the events that took place yesterday against our player Vinicius Junior. These events represent a direct attack on the social and democratic model of coexistence of our state based on the rule of law.

“Real Madrid believes that such attacks also constitute a hate crime and has therefore filed the corresponding report with the Attorney General’s Office, specifically with the Prosecutor’s Office against crimes of hatred and discrimination, in order for the facts to be investigated and for those responsible to be held accountable.”

Ancelotti: Vinicius won’t leave Real

Carlo Ancelotti says he does not think Vinicius will leave Real as a result of the abuse he receives but demanded more action against those responsible.

“I don’t think [he will leave], because he loves football and he loves Real Madrid,” said Ancelotti. “His love for the club is very big and he wants to make his career here.

“Vinicius is sad. He’s not guilty. He’s a victim who can be painted as guilty sometimes when people say he’s provoking or talking about his attitude. No. Let’s make it very clear: Vinicius is the victim of all this.

“I want actions and nothing has been done yet. We’re worried about what’s happened, like everyone else.”

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Carlo Ancelotti says he asked Vinicius if he wanted to continue to play football after the player was subject to racism

Ancelotti – who said Vinicius missed training due to a small injury on Tuesday – added: “Leaving racism aside, which is the most serious thing, insulting seems to be a habit.

“I agree with what Xavi said – why is it normal to insult? Why is it a habit in football? This needs to stop. We’re just tired of being insulted every day.

“This is not war, this is a sport. Condemning is not enough. We’ve been condemning racism for a very long time. But after condemning, one needs to act.

“Nobody has acted yet in a way that makes this problem go away. It’s a problem of racism and it’s a problem of insults.”

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Barcelona manager Xavi has strongly condemned racism in football and backed Vinicius following Sunday’s incident at Mestalla

Tebas: Vinicius ‘must not be manipulated’

Javier Tebas, the LaLiga president, criticised Vinicius after the game at Valencia, accusing him of twice failing to appear at arranged meetings with the league regarding his complaints.

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Tebas also told Vinicius “it is necessary that you inform yourself”, adding: “Do not let yourself be manipulated”.

Those comments prompted an angry response from the Real winger, who wrote on Twitter: “Once again, instead of criticising racists, the president of LaLiga appears on social media to attack me.

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“As much as you talk and pretend not to read, the image of your championship is shaken.

“Omitting yourself only makes you equal to racists. I want actions and punishments.”

LaLiga has said it will request all available images in order to investigate what took place in light of the incident. “If any hate crime is identified, we will take the appropriate legal action,” the league said in a statement.

Valencia have announced they will “ban for life” the fans involved in the incident.

However, Javier Solis, their corporate director and spokesperson, demanded an apology from Ancelotti on Sunday, accusing the Italian of branding all Valencia fans as “racist”.