“Thinking regarding taking a player out because of racism, that had never happened to me. What happened today (Sunday, editor’s note) has already happened to us, but in this way, no. It’s unacceptable “Spanish La Liga has a problem with racism. And the problem is not Vinicius. Vinicius is the victim. But there is a very serious problem.” launched the Italian coach at a press conference.
Throughout the match, the public at the Mestalla stadium insulted the Brazilian player, but doubts remain regarding the content of the insults. Ancelotti heard the stadium shout “mono”, or monkey in Spanish, but a journalist told him at a press conference that the spectators were shouting “tonto”, which means “imbecile” in Spanish.
An explanation that did not convince Ancelotti. “Why do you think the referee interrupted the match? Because the public was shouting ‘idiot’ at Vinicius? No. The referee interrupted the match because he opened the racism protocol”, argued the Italian .
Around the 70th minute of the game, Vinicius pointed at a supporter, then the players went to report the facts to the referee.
“It’s La Liga”
“I asked him (to Vinicius, editor’s note) if he wanted to continue playing, and he wanted to continue. The referee told me that he also had to continue, that he was going to apply the protocol if it happened once more. But it happened once more, because when he sent him off on a red card, the whole stadium started singing ‘monkey, monkey’… This can’t go on… I’m very sad”regretted the Italian technician.
In addition to this incident, another scuffle between the Brazilian striker and Hugo Duro led to the expulsion of “Vini” in the 90th + 7, but the referee decided not to sanction Duro.
“What the racists have won is my expulsion. It’s not football. It’s La Liga”reacted Vinicius on Instagram following the match.
“In all the stadiums in Spain, people are continuously disrespecting Vinicius,” lamented Dani Ceballos on Movistar at the final whistle.
“If + Vini + had said + I’m leaving the field +, I would have left with him. It’s something that we cannot tolerate”, abounded Thibaut Courtois, who moreover heard “monkey cries around the 20th minute”.
“There have already been complaints, but what happened? Nothing at all. The one and only solution is to stop the match”, concluded Ancelotti.
