Valencia has received a punishment of a partial stadium closure for five matches due to racial abuse towards Real Madrid forward, Vinicius Jr.
The Spanish police have detained three individuals in relation to the insult directed at the Brazilian on Sunday at Mestalla Stadium.
In addition, Valencia has to pay 45,000 euros (£39,000) for the racial abuse by their fans towards the Brazil striker.
The club will have to close the south stand, and they have ten business days to appeal.
The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has also stated that Vinicius, who was sent off in the 97th minute of the 1-0 loss, will not face suspension and will be available for Wednesday’s match against Real Vallecano.
The RFEF, in a statement, states that the referee’s decision to dismiss Vinicius was based on the fact that he lacked a crucial piece of information. Making it impossible for him to accurately assess what transpired.
The RFEF explained the partial stadium closure as follows: “We consider it proven that Valencia’s fans directed racist chants at Vinicius. As reflected in the referee’s match report. These actions disrupted the normal flow of the game and are deemed extremely grave infractions.”
During the second half, the match was halted after Vinicius, enraged by the incident. Reported the opposing spectators to the referee.
Real Madrid has reported the abuse suffered by Vinicius as a hate crime to the Spanish prosecutor’s office.
“Racists out of football”
Vinicius has been the target of racial slurs multiple times this season. Which has garnered support from the footballing community.
The handling of the incidents has faced widespread criticism, including from the Brazilian government.
Before Tuesday’s matches between Real Valladolid and Barcelona, and Celta Vigo and Girona, players and match officials stood in front of banners reading “Racism, out of football.”
Barcelona winger Raphinha sent a message of support to Vinicius when he was substituted in the second half.
La Liga has announced its intention to request “more sanctioning powers”. To effectively punish racist incidents following the backlash it faced for its handling of the incident at Valencia.
After the game, Vinicius and La Liga president Javier Tebas engaged in a Twitter dispute. Vinicius claimed that La Liga “belongs to racists” and that “in Brazil, Spain is known as a country of racists.”
In response, Tebas stated that Vinicius had not attended two separate meetings. To discuss measures that can be taken in cases of racism. He added, “Before you criticize and slander La Liga, you need to be properly informed.”
