Racism in La Liga’ Vinícius outraged by abuse at Valencia

The Brazilian star Vinícius Júnior has called La Liga and Spain racist after Real Madrid’s Brazil forward received racial slurs from the stands in Sunday’s defeat 1-0 loss at Valencia’s stronghold Mestalla stadium. Vinícius Júnior pointed out the fans who were insulting him, leading to the match being stopped for 10 minutes, and then got into an altercation with Valencia’s players which led to his sending-off in added time. La Liga 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,” it said in a statement. The Spanish league has previously lodged complaints of racist chanting or insults against Vinícius Júnior, the latest of which was a claim before a court in Mallorca after fans were filmed racially abusing the forward. Spanish police are also investigating a possible hate crime against Vinícius Júnior after a mannequin wearing his No 20 shirt was hung from a bridge outside Real Madrid’s training ground in January. Diego López struck in the first half for a 1-0 win that moves Valencia further away from relegation danger. With three games to go, Valencia are 13th in La Liga on 40 points, five clear of the relegation spots. Real is third on 71 points, 14 behind Barcelona, who secured the title last week with four games to spare. Real Madrid officially lost the La Liga title to Barcelona in the last round, while Valencia scored 3 valuable points that will contribute significantly to its survival in La Liga.