La Liga takes Mallorca racial abuse against Vinicius Junior to court

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By Martin Graham | 9th Feb 2023

La Liga has filed a complaint with a court in Mallorca over racial abuse against Vinicius Junior. Vinicius was a target of racial abuse when Mallorca hosted Real Madrid in a La Liga game at the weekend.

With the La Liga 2022/23 season halfway gone, Real Madrid is in second place, eight points behind league leaders Real Madrid. The Spanish giants will feel hard done by the officiating this season, as they have not gotten the rub of the green. Real Madrid feels it is the reason for their position on the log.

Recent results by the defending champions have ensured that the team manager Carlo Ancelotti is under pressure. In his second season following his return, things have not been as smooth as expected, with results not going their way. Despite still being in three competitions, Real Madrid has higher standards and expects things to change.

Real Madrid’s biggest worry, besides the ailing results, is the treatment meted out to Vinicius Junior. Real Madrid feels the player is not getting enough protection from the referees. The Brazilian international was the victim of racial abuse in the loss to Mallorca at the weekend. He also attracted several fouls that yielded just a yellow card.

La Liga files an official complaint against Mallorca

Vinicius Junior received plenty of abuse in Mallorca as the host team got away with several acts of gamesmanship. The Brazilian got kicked by Mallorca players, while their fans heckled and booed the Brazilian each time he touched the ball.

La Liga has filed a formal complaint with a court in Mallorca after a fan racially abused Vinicius Junior during Real Madrid’s 1-0 league loss to Real Mallorca on Sunday.

During the game, a fan was caught on camera shouting racist chants at Vinicius. La Liga have forwarded all of the information gathered from analysis of the images and audio recorded from a position near the stands at San Moix. La Liga sent it with the formal complaint to the court in Palma de Mallorca and Real Mallorca. In a statement on Tuesday, La Liga said it would allow them to participate in the proceedings.

Vinicius has become a consistent target for players and fans in La Liga, and this complaint to the court is the sixth time a complaint would go to court due to racial abuse against Vinicius.

Other cases of racial abuse in La Liga

Prosecutors decided not to press charges in three cases of abuse against Vinicius. They include away games at Barcelona in October 2021, Mallorca in March 2022, and Atletico Madrid last September.

La Liga filed two formal complaints last month after Vinicius was the butt of racist insults during a game against Real Valladolid. A mannequin wearing the player’s shirt was hung from a bridge outside Real Madrid’s training ground.

Vinicius tweeted in December that racists continue to flock to stadiums to watch the world’s biggest club, and La Liga does nothing.

League president Javier Tebas responded to the accusation saying it was unfortunate and unfair. According to ESPN, Vinicius believes that the abuse from fans and how he is the target of rough treatment by opposing players has reached a tipping point, with referees and the media contributing to the tense atmosphere around him.

In a press conference on Tuesday, Carlo Ancelotti said Vinicius is the victim of a Spanish football problem.

The Italian manager continued that it appears Vinicius is the problem, but the issue is what happens around him. Ancelotti said La Liga must address the problem.