Vinicius Jr. suffers racist abuse from Mallorca fans again

Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr. was subjected to racial abuse during his team's 1-0 defeat to Mallorca on 5 February. In a video posted on social media by streaming service DAZN, fans can be heard calling the 22-year-old Brazilian a monkey player. Mallorca did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, club manager Javier Aguirre denied in a radio interview that his players targeted Vinicius in a tense game in which the Brazilian received the most fouls of any La Liga player this season, with ten.

Vinicius has faced racial abuse from fans on at least three occasions, including at Camp Nou against Barcelona in November 2021, Atletico Madrid in September 2022 and Valladolid in late December 2022. A mannequin wearing the number 20 shirt was hanged from a bridge in front of the club's training center two weeks ago. prompting Spanish police to investigate a possible hate crime against Brazilians. During the early hours of January 26, the mannequin was hung next to a banner in Atlético Madrid's red and white colors that read "Madrid hates Real," according to police.

Vinicius accused LaLiga of not doing anything about racist fans at matches in December after videos on social media showed swearing and throwing objects. At the time, Vinicius released a two-minute video statement in response to what he called a "xenophobic and racist" insult, saying he "will not stop dancing" and that "the happiness of a black Brazilian who is successful in Europe is troubling" many people. people.

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti and Vinicius' teammates have urged LaLiga and the authorities to take action to protect the Brazilian from what rival defenders call "hunting". With 79 fouls this season, Vinicius is by a wide margin the most fouled player in Europe's top seven leagues, followed by compatriot Neymar at PSG with 59 fouls.