The reaction to the racial abuse suffered by Vinicius Junior last Sunday has brought action, reaction and controversy to Spanish football.
The Competition Committee sanctioned Valencia with a €45k fine and a five-game stand closure, something that was fought by Valencia, who appealed the ban.
There has been swathe reaction to these punishments in Spain, who say that the only reason action is being taken is because Real Madrid are involved, and have chosen to make a big deal of it.
Valencia defender Mouctar Diakhaby very much being evidence of this, the French defender neglected to stand behind the ‘united against racism’ banner, as a clear mark of disdain. Diakhaby alleged that Cadiz defender Juan Cala racially abused him, and received little support from La Liga or any other of the relevant authorities. Valencia were ready to walk off the pitch, but were reportedly told they would lose the three points if they did.
Ahead of the match, Real Mallorca fans posed outside the stadium with a banner reading ‘It’s not La Liga, it’s Florentino’ [Perez]. The image (via MD) was captured by Juanmi Sanchez. This of course is a play on the La Liga marketing campaign, ‘it’s not football, it’s La Liga’, which was quoted by Vinicius in his fuming about the abuse he has received. The phrase written on the banner has also been used on social media in recent days too.
There is no doubt the fact that Vinicius is a Real Madrid player, and the media pull the club has, have influenced the reaction to these incidents. Provided each club is treated equally going forward, surely most would agree that the issue is getting the attention it deserves.