Once again Spain is reading about Vinicius Junior suffering from racial abuse on a Monday morning. An occurrence that has become depressingly regular, against Real Mallorca the Brazilian was called a monkey, in an eighth (recorded) racial incident since coming to Spain.
It is sadly becoming more regular. This is the fourth incident of the season, after he was racially abused by Atletico Madrid fans, Real Valladolid fans and the build-up to the most recent Madrid derby saw a mannequin wearing a Vinicius shirt hung from a bridge.
Against Mallorca, once again footage has emerged, as captured by DAZN, of Vinicius being racially abused.
Sí, ha habido insultos racistas a @vinijr. Y sí, 𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐁𝐋𝐄𝐒 😡
Tenemos que acabar con esto en el fútbol como sea. Impecable discurso de @migquintana y @albertoowono. Para escucharlo y reflexionar 🙏 pic.twitter.com/8TbFM6Byw5
— DAZN España (@DAZN_ES) February 5, 2023
Más insultos racistas a Vinicius en @LaLiga de @Tebasjavier Mallorca – Real Madrid#TodosSomosVini @CNN @TNTSportsBR @tatimantovani pic.twitter.com/tE5YgJuEDj
— Rafa RNMJ Real Madrid (@RafaRNMJ) February 5, 2023
In the footage, a fan can be heard shouting ‘Vinicius, monkey. You are a f****** monkey’ from the stands.
After the racial abuse against Valladolid, ten fans have been fined €4k and given a year-long ban from sporting grounds, while the mannequin incident is being investigated by the authorities. Presumably this evidence will be submitted to the anti-violence committee in charge of these cases, and thoroughly investigated.
Once again, Vinicius himself, as well as those who oppose racism, will be lefting asking themselves how it has been allowed to become such a common part of the season. It highlights a dangerous undercurrent that should be addressed by all involved.