By Jaime Spencer
Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior is thought to be growing increasingly concerned about the atmosphere surrounding him this season following another incident of racist abuse from fans and harsh on-pitch punishment from opposing players when the Blancos lost against Mallorca.
Vinicius had already been subjected to racial abuse from Ray Vallecano and Atletico Madrid fans this season alone before kick-off in Palma on Sunday. But it happened again, with the Brazilian being targeted with racial slurs. Another incident also occurred at Camp Nou in November 2021.
La Liga will investigate and describe the latest incident as “intolerable”.
ESPN he quotes sources close to the Real Madrid dressing to report that Vinicius has been affected by the racism he has suffered at the end of this season.
He also picked up 10 fouls over the weekend, the most he has picked up in a game this season, and notably clashed with Mallorca defenders Antonio Raillo and Pablo Maffeo. This came just days after he was actually attacked by Valencia’s Gabriel Paulista, for which the former Arsenal player received a straight red card and he later issued an apology.
ESPN adds that Vinicius’ private complaints after the match against Mallorca focused more on the lack of protection from referee Alejandro Hernandez, rather than on the behavior of the opponents.
Not a new problem, con reports this time last year sharing Real’s concern about his treatment.
For Vinicius now, he is said to believe Spanish referees and sections of the media are responsible for creating a tense atmosphere around him. He is especially unhappy that the media has focused on him, the victim, rather than those targeting him.
“It’s a problem of Spanish football, and as part of Spanish football I think it’s a problem that we have to solve. It looks like he’s guilty, but he’s the victim of something. I don’t understand,” Real coach Carlo Ancelotti said when pressed on the matter.
This article was originally posted on 90min.com as Vinicius Junior increasingly worried about the treatment this season.
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