Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior has been backed by his teammates following yet more deplorable treatment for the Br azilian during their clash with Valencia.
It was the tenth occasion where an official complaint has been filed for racism towards the Br azilian, in addition to the incident which saw an effigy of Vinicius hung from a bridge. After the match, Thibaut Courtois was one of many teammates who came out with messages of support for his colleague, with manager Carlo Ancelotti also furious after the match.
peaking to Movistar+, the Belgium’s comments were carried by Cadena Cope.
"Someday you have to put a camera focusing only on those people. They have made gestures of all sorts to me too… today’s football is going to the ground to insult and not to cheer for teams. If ‘Vini’ had told me that he didn’t want to play, I would have left the pitch with him."
Courtois admitted that at one point that was a real possibility.
"At one point he said he was stopping, and then that he was continuing on. I would have gone with him because it is something that we cannot tolerate."
"There was an act of racism. A few years ago, Valencia denounced a Cadiz player for the same thing and now this is happening here. There were ‘monkey’ noises… we cannot tolerate it. In Belgium, if something happens, the stadium is closed. We cannot tolerate it. They are individuals who do not think with their heads," Courtois continued, referencing an incident where Mouctar Diakhaby accused Juan Cala of racially abusing him. Nothing was ever proven though.
As these incidents continue to spiral out of control, increasingly it looks as if there is no answer other than much more severe punishments. If it nearly happened against Valencia, the likelihood is that La Liga is not far off seeing Real Madrid abandon a game in the future. While it should have been stamped out months ago, it appears as if the relevant authorities will be forced to take action this time.