Real Madrid are furious that their star winger, Vinicius Junior, is not receiving the protection he should from referees in their view. Carlo Ancelotti has regularly defended him in recent weeks, claiming he is not responsible for the treatment he gets, but the Brazilian seems to be treated more harshly by defences than any other footballer in Europe – by a distance.
Part of that is a complement to his ability, that defences are so ready to foul him in order to ensure he cannot make the difference. Simultaneously, there is a responsibility on referees to ensure that constant fouls are prevented, so that Vinicius can still show his full range of qualities.
However Los Blancos do not feel that is happening currently. The Brazilian winger was fouled on ten occasions against Real Mallorca, yet he was booked before any of the Mallorca defenders.
In total, Mallorca made 29 fouls during the game, compared to Real Madrid’s 14, but both received five yellow cards. Los Bermellones were allowed nearly six fouls per booking.
The Madridista outrage is not just limited to this game though. According to Marca, Vinicius has been fouled 79 times this season in La Liga. A remarkable 20 more than Neymar Junior, the next most-fouled player. In La Liga, Isi Palazon is the next most fouled player with 52.
Already Vinicius has been fouled more times than last season in its entirety (76), despite only having played 20 matches. Only Isaac Success of Udinese (every 22.03 minutes), averages more fouls than Vinicius (22.30 mins).
Furthering their argument, Vinicius is only fouled once every 40 minutes in the Champions League, which totals to 11 fouls so far.
While fouls are part of the game for every great player and even more so for a dribbler like Vinicius, it is hard to argue that those statistics do not suggest a certain leniency against him.
Image via EFE/ Sergio G. Cañizares