The winger said Spain ‘belongs to racists’ after being abused on Sunday (Picture: Getty)
Carlo Ancelotti insists Vinicius Junior is not considering his future at Real Madrid after being subjected to yet more racist abuse on Sunday, while he has called on Spanish football to confront the problem urgently.
The Brazilian winger was targeted by Valencia fans during an away match at the Mestalla, with large numbers making monkey gestures and noises at the 22-year-old.
Vinicius pointed out a number of perpetrators to the referee but the match resumed after a short pause with no punishments handed out – though three men were subsequently arrested on suspicion of being involved in the racist insults on Tuesday.
The problem is far more widespread than that, though, with footage from before the match appearing to show hundreds of supporters joining in with vile chants before kick-off, while Vinicius has been targeted throughout the season.
Four other men were also arrested on Tuesday for allegedly hanging an effigy of the Brazilian off a bridge in Madrid in January before the derby against Atletico, while he also suffered abuse against Mallorca and Valladolid.
There have been suggestions that Vinicius feels let down by the lack of support he has received by both his club and La Liga and could look to leave Real Madrid as a result, though Ancelotti is convinced he will remain and continue to fight back against the abuse.
Asked about the Brazilian’s future at the club, Ancelotti said at a press conference on Tuesday: ‘Vinicius loves football and Vinicius loves Real Madrid. I think that he’s not really planning to leave, that’s not what he’s thinking here.
‘His love for Real Madrid is so big that he wants to continue to play here, make history with this team and win titles for this club.
Vinicius pointed out a number of his abusers in the crowd (Picture: Getty)
‘Of course I’ve talked to him. Of course he’s sad, but he knows very well that he has the support of the whole world and not only the support of Real Madrid and his team-mates.
‘He has received support from his rivals, from his international team-mates, from football legends, so in this respect he’s very calm.
‘As I said, Vinicius loves Real Madrid, he loves living in this country and he wants his future to be related to this club. Obviously these things upset you, but his main idea is not to leave Real Madrid and the country.
‘What he says is because he has certain feelings but what he wants is to continue playing for Real Madrid, to continue to work here, get better here and he wants his professional career to be here at Real Madrid.’
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In a passionate press conference, Ancelotti also took aim at the lack of action that has been taken to tackle the problem, continuing: ‘The protocol is obsolete, there’s no doubt about that. That protocol should have been applied as soon as the bus arrived at the stadium because that’s when the insults started. When I hear that Vinicius provoked certain situations it’s not true because these insults started when the bus arrived.
‘Condemning this problem is not enough because you have to act and take actions and take measures for this problem to be solved and for these actions to stop.
‘There are countries where you are not insulted during games. In England, for example, you don’t hear insults during the games because these issues have been resolved long ago.
‘When certain teams were expelled from competitions they took measures and solved those situations. The measures were so harsh that right now, during games, you can hardly see any police at the stadiums because there are no insults. Here the situation is totally different, here it looks like we are going to war. Fortunately in England they have resolved this issue long ago by taking very drastic measures and actions.’
MORE : Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr says Spain ‘belongs to racists’ after he was targeted by vile chants
MORE : Real Madrid lodge hate crime complaint to Spanish prosecutors after racist abuse of Vinicius Junior
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The winger is believed to be considering his future in Spain after Sunday’s vile scenes.
