No Suspension For Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior After Red Card

The Competition Committee of the Spanish Football Federation have announced that they have withdrawn the red card shown to Real Madrid soccer star Vinícius Júnior in their controversial 1-0 defeat to Valencia at Mestalla on Sunday.

The Brazilian had been subjected to racist abuse from opposition fans throughout the game, with Vinícius being sent off in injury time of the game after a clash with rival players and fans in which he was adjudged to have behaved violently as he swung an arm at the face of Valencia’s Hugo Duro.

Full footage of the incident showed that Duro had grabbed the Real Madrid player by the neck, with Vinícius flailing his arms in an attempt to break free. However, the footage showed to on-field referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea by the Video Assistant Referee, Ignacio Iglesias Villanueva, did not include the initial hold by Duro.

RFEF’s statemente

“The RFEF Competition Committee considers that the referee’s assessment was determined by the omission of the entirety of the play that took place, which affected the refereeing decision,” a statement reads.

“The fact that he [the referee] was deprived of a decisive part of the facts led him to adopt an arbitrary decision. And this is because it was impossible for him to properly assess what happened.”

It came shortly after Ignacio Iglesias Villanueva, in charge of VAR for the game at Mestalla, was removed from his expected match duties as VAR for the fixture between Real Betis and Getafe on Wednesday night. Sources report that this was a direct punishment for the mistake in Sunday’s game, and that it could even be his final involvement as a referee employed by the Spanish Football Federation.

Available for Rayo Vallecano

The red card was only the second of Vinícius’ career, following another for Real Madrid Castilla in October 2018, and his first direct red card, but he will now not serve a suspension despite seeing red.

That means that he will be available to Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti when Los Blancos take on Rayo Vallecano at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu in LaLiga on Wednesday night.

The forward has missed only two LaLiga games to date this season, one through suspension for accumulation of yellow cards, and could start against Rayo Vallecano with the club keen to send a message to the world following the scenes of racist abuse which they have condemned throughout this week.

It is also expected that Nike
NKE
will launch a new anti-racism campaign in the coming days, putting Vinícius at the forefront of the movement as a figurehead and spokesperson for the campaign.

Other measures taken by the Competition Committee

In addition to the decision not to suspend Vinícius for his red card against Valencia, the Competition Committee also took action against Valencia and their fans after the racist abuse that was hurled his way on Sunday evening.

The most eye-catching sanction on the club was the decision to partially close the Mario Kempes south stand of Mestalla for the next five matches, a spell which will stretch into next season.

The club was also fined €45,000 ($49,536) as a result of the behavior of their fans as punishment. “Valencia CF wishes to show its total disagreement and indignation at the unjust and disproportionate sanction imposed by the Competition Committee on the Club with the closure of the Grada de Animación for five matches,” a statement published by the club late on Tuesday night stated.

“Valencia CF wants to publicly denounce that in this resolution of the RFEF’s Competition Committee they state evidence that contradicts what the National Police and LaLiga say. In addition, this sanction is based on evidence that the Club has not been able to see and without giving us a hearing,” it continued, with an appeal expected imminently.