Gary Neville was sacked by Valencia on this day in 2016 after spending only four months as the Spanish side’s head coach.
The former Manchester United and England defender, who at the time was part of Roy Hodgson’s England coaching staff, was dismissed just 28 games into what was his first management role.
That featured 10 wins, seven draws and 11 losses, including a 7-0 thrashing at Barcelona in the Copa del Rey.
Neville said in a statement on Los Che’s website: “I would like to thank Valencia, the fans, staff and the players.
“I would have liked to have continued the work I started. But I understand that we are in a results business and in the 28 games they have not been to my standards or to those which are required by this club.”
In LaLiga, Neville did not oversee a victory until his 10th attempt, and there were only three wins in total across 16 league matches.
Valencia had been ninth in the table when Neville was appointed as successor to Nuno Espirito Santo at the club, where his brother Phil was already on the coaching staff – their position was 14th when he departed.
The then 41-year-old’s final game in charge had been a 2-0 home loss to Celta Vigo – a third straight defeat.
Neville returned to the role of Sky Sports pundit – having left the position to take up the Valencia job – at the start of the 2016-17 campaign.
Great Britain’s Phillips Idowu won gold in the triple jump at the World Indoor Championships in Valencia, on this day in 2008.
The 29-year-old Londoner smashed Jonathan Edwards’ 10 year old British record and came within eight centimetres of the then world indoor record.
Sporting a designer red hairstyle, Idowu opened with a jump of 17.10m before going out to 17.75m with his second.
He matched his previous personal best of 17.56m in the third round and jumped 17.45m in the next before sitting out the fifth and fouling with his final attempt.
By that point he had already done enough to see off the challenge of former world junior champion David Giralt and the previous year’s world outdoor gold medallist Nelson Evora.
Idowu was presented with his medal by former world and Olympic champion Edwards.
He said: “I knew it was going to be hard beforehand, so I kept on going.
“I wanted to see what sort of shape I was in after four or five months of hard winter work – and obviously it’s a very good one.”
Jude Bellingham was sent off after the final whistle after being denied a late winner in Real Madrid’s 2-2 draw at Valencia.
The England midfielder, making his return from injury, thought he had headed home a cross deep into stoppage time at the Mestalla but the referee had already blown for full time.
Real players surrounded the official in a chaotic aftermath and Bellingham was shown the red card before the players left the field.
It made for a dramatic ending to a compelling LaLiga clash in which the leaders had fought back from 2-0 down with two Vinicius Junior goals.
Valencia had stunned Carlo Ancelotti’s side by pouncing on two mistakes to score twice in quick succession through Hugo Duro and Roman Yaremchuk.
The result meant Real missed the chance to move nine points clear at the top and second-placed Girona will have the chance to cut the gap when they play Mallorca on Sunday.
It was an emotional night for Valencia, who were returning to action for the first time since a deadly fire in their city, with tributes paid to victims and other people affected before kick-off.
The game got off to a slow start as the visitors struggled to create any meaningful opportunities despite dominating possession.
It was not until the 23rd minute that Real caused any alarm in the Valencia box as Vinicius, returning to a ground where he was racially abused last season, went down under a challenge from Dimitri Foulquier. No penalty was given.
Valencia took the lead against the run of play in the 27th minute after Real lost possession.
There was an element of fortune about it as Foulquier crossed to the far post and Fran Perez miskicked his attempt to clip back across goal. Duro, who had not been expecting the ball, reacted quickly to head home.
Dani Carvajal then compounded the setback moments later with an underhit backpass that Yaremchuk seized upon to round Andriy Lunin and slot in.
Real recovered and Bellingham, back in the side after three weeks out, created a chance for Federico Valverde but Giorgi Mamardashvili was equal to his effort.
The pressure paid off in first-half stoppage time as a Carvajal cross took deflections off a defender and Mamardashvili and found its way to Vinicius for a simple tap-in.
Real upped the tempo after the break and Vinicius lashed a shot wide before Bellingham, who has enjoyed a stunning first season at the Spanish giants, wrong-footed the defence and forced Mamardashvili to save with his legs.
Diego Lopez brought a good save from Lunin at the other end but further Real pressure paid off when Vinicius rose to head in a Brahim Diaz cross.
There was a long delay late on after Valencia’s Mouctar Diakhaby suffered a serious-looking injury and was carried off on a stretcher.
Real had a scare in stoppage time when Valencia were awarded a penalty for a foul on Duro by Nacho but the decision was overturned by VAR.
It was not the end of the drama but Bellingham’s effort came too late to count.
LaLiga leaders Real Madrid came from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Valencia in an ill-tempered finish at the Mestalla that saw Jude Bellingham sent off after the final whistle.
The hosts scored two goals in four minutes midway through the first half from Hugo Duro and Roman Yaremchuk, but Vinicius Junior pulled one back on the stroke of half-time.
Vinicius then got a second in the 76th minute to level it up.
There was late drama as Valencia’s Mouctar Diakhaby suffered an apparently serious injury in the closing minutes. Moments after play restarted the referee pointed for a Valencia penalty after Nacho went flying in on Duro, but VAR came to Madrid’s rescue as the decision was overturned.
As the players went off, Bellingham was sent off, apparently for dissent, in what was his first match back after three games out with an ankle injury.
Youssef En-Nesyri’s early brace set Sevilla on their way to a 3-2 win over Real Sociedad.
Andre Silva pulled one back for the visitors in first-half stoppage time, but Sergio Ramos restored Sevilla’s two-goal advantage midway through the second half, with Brais Mendez’s late goal for Sociedad mere consolation.
Mason Greenwood was on the scoresheet as Getafe took a point from an entertaining 3-3 draw with Las Palmas.
Greenwood added to Jaime Mata’s early goal as the hosts roared into a two-goal lead inside 15 minutes. Sandro Ramirez pulled one back before Nemanja Maksimovic made it 3-1 at the break, but Las Palmas earned a point via second-half goals from Sergi Cardona and Munir El Haddadi.
Javi Hernandez’s stoppage-time goal cancelled out Florian Lejeune’s strike as Cadiz salvaged a point from a 1-1 draw at Rayo Vallecano.
Serhou Guirassy scored twice as Stuttgart won 3-2 at Wolfsburg to close the gap to second-placed Bayern Munich to four points.
Guirassy put Stuttgart in front after 14 minutes, and although Joakim Maehle levelled early in the second half, the Wolfsburg defender was soon guilty of fouling Enzo Millot in the box, giving Guirassy the opportunity to restore Stuttgart’s lead from the penalty spot.
Josha Vagnoman added a third in the 77th minute and they needed the cushion as Lukas Nmecha pulled one back for the hosts late on.
Borussia Dortmund remain fourth after goals from Karim Adeyemi and Ian Maatsen earned a 2-0 win at Union Berlin.
Leipzig stayed one point back in fifth with a 4-1 win at Bochum, who took a seventh minute lead though Maximilian Wittek but collapsed midway through the second half.
Dani Olmo levelled before the break, but three goals in five minutes from Lois Openda, Ivan Ordets and Yussuf Poulsen settled it before Bochum’s Moritz-Broni Kwarteng saw red late on.
Struggling Mainz took an early lead against Borussia Monchengladbach through Jonathan Burkhardt but could not hold on as Nathan N’Goumou levelled early in the second half, with Mainz’s Dominik Kohr sent off late on.
An embarrassing own goal from Benedikt Gimber helped Eintracht Frankfurt to a 2-1 win at Heidenheim, while Philip Tietz and Ermedin Demirovic scored two each as Augsburg thrashed Darmstadt 6-0.
Roma cruised to a 4-1 win over Monza. Lorenzo Pellegrini and Romelu Lukaku put them in control before half-time with Paulo Dybala adding a third before Leandro Paredes’ penalty. Andrea Carboni got a late consolation goal for the hosts.
Hassane Kamara struck in first-half stoppage time to cancel out Loum Tchanouna’s early goal as Udinese drew 1-1 with Salernitana, but the hosts finished with 10 men as Festy Ebosele saw red in the second half.
Torino and Fiorentina shared the points from a 0-0 draw in which Torino’s Samuele Ricci was sent off in first-half stoppage time.
Marseille had five different players on the scoresheet as they enjoyed a 5-1 away win at Clermont Foot.
Iliman Ndiaye got things started in the first half, and although Bilal Boutobba levelled early in the second half, Marseille seized control with strikes from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Jonathan Clauss, Luis Henrique and Faris Moumagna.
Jonathan David’s 56th minute strike earned Lille a 1-0 win away to Reims.
Jude Bellingham is fit to face Valencia with Carlo Ancelotti confirming the midfielder will feature for Real Madrid on Saturday.
The England star has been sidelined with an ankle injury but is available for the LaLiga clash at the Mestalla.
Bellingham, who has 21 goals for club and country this season, has been out since suffering the injury against title rivals Girona in February and has missed Real’s last three games.
Ancelotti said: “He’s at 100 per cent. He hasn’t trained too much with the team but he’s done all he needs to on an individual basis.
“He’s in good shape, optimum physical condition and he’s comfortable with his ankle. He’s up for it and will play.
“The team has trained well and (Dani) Carvajal, (Eduardo) Camavinga, Joselu and Bellingham will all be back. We want to deliver a positive display. The key moments in the season come in March and April and confidence is high.
“We have options. Picking a starting XI is always tough. There are several players who are contributing very well and deserve to play. I haven’t had too many difficult decisions to make up until now because we’ve always had so many injuries.”
Real are six points clear at the top of LaLiga having lost just once in the league this season, to rivals Atletico Madrid in September.
They beat Valencia, who are ninth, 5-1 at home in November but have struggled at the Mestalla recently.
Real have only won one of their last five trips to Valencia, including last year’s 1-0 defeat, with Ancelotti wary of the threat their hosts have.
He said: “The closer we get to the end of the season, the more important the games become. Real Madrid have always struggled at Mestalla because it’s a tough place to go against opposition enjoying a good run. Of course, we’ll have to be at our best.
“The plan is to play a great football match and I’m sure Valencia are thinking the same. That’s what the fans and players want ahead of the game, an entertaining spectacle.
“It’s one of the biggest. But all are important, including the three points against Sevilla. Picking up points at this stage of the season is hugely important. Every team needs the points to fight for top spot, the Champions League places or against relegation.”
Barcelona lost further ground at the top of LaLiga as Valencia fought back to draw 1-1 at the Mestalla.
Joao Felix had put Barca ahead early in the second half, but Hugo Guillamon fired the hosts level with 20 minutes left.
The draw left Barca in third, but having played a match more than both Real Madrid and leaders Girona as the pressure continues to increase on manager Xavi.
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Valencia, who had lost three of their last four league matches, created an early chance when Roman Yaremchuk spun to fire goalwards, but Barca keeper Inaki Pena made a smart save down to his left.
At the other end, Robert Lewandowski – without a goal in his last three away LaLiga games – had a shot deflected wide, although the ball had gone out of play in the build-up.
Pena was again called into action in the 16th minute as he got down to clear Cristhian Mosquera’s close-range header.
Valencia keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili saved Lewandowski’s drive from the edge of the penalty area in a lively spell.
The Mestalla crowd were soon calling for a penalty when Pepelu went down under a clumsy challenge from behind by Raphinha, but the referee was not interested.
Mamardashvili had to be alert to parry away an acrobatic effort from Lewandowski before Pedri flashed a rising drive over from the edge of the Valencia box.
Valencia winger Fran Perez hit a low ball through the Barcelona six-yard box which just needed a touch to turn it into the net.
Barcelona, beaten 4-2 at home by Girona last weekend, looked to step up the tempo at the start of the second half, with Ilkay Gundogan sending a first-time shot wide before the deadlock was broken in the 55th minute.
Frenkie De Jong chipped a ball down the right for Raphinha, who cut a pass back through the six-yard box for Felix to tap in at the far post.
Tempers threatened to boil over just after the hour mark when Perez flew into a challenge on Gundogan, and was swiftly shown a yellow card.
Mamardashvili produced a fine low reaction save at his near post after Raphinha had pulled the ball back from the goalline to rifle in an angled drive.
Valencia were back on level terms with 20 minutes left.
Guillamon fired a shot into the top-right corner after Barcelona had failed to clear a high ball into the penalty area from Perez, who was ruled onside following a VAR review.
Mamardashvili made another reflex stop when Barca substitute Ferran Torres latched onto an angled ball in from De Jong.
Barcelona pushed for a winner, but Raphinha was denied at the far post by a brilliant block from Yarek Gasiorowski on the line after Mamardashvili had saved the Brazilian’s initial effort.
Justin Kluivert has "great memories" from his time at Roma, but believes he made the right decision by leaving the Italian giants in search of first-team football.
Kluivert joined Bournemouth earlier this transfer window for a reported £9.6million, ending a five-year stint as a Roma player.
However, the winger had spent the last three seasons out on loan, at RB Leipzig, Nice and Valencia respectively. Kluivert had been close to joining Fulham prior to his switch to Spain.
The 24-year-old joined Roma from Ajax in 2018, but never quite managed to live up to his potential in Serie A.
Asked if he was disappointed at how his move to Roma played out, Kluivert told Stats Perform: "I came from Ajax as a young kid, very young.
"I came to a new environment that was very different, I came from Amsterdam where I lived with my mother, my brothers and to move to a big city like Rome, [to play] in a big team that now plays Champions League – that is very difficult.
"Also, the coach and [technical staff] that brought me there, they left in six months. So there was a new coach, a new director, who have their own plan, and that was also something I had never been through in my football career.
"At Ajax everything was good there, everything was nice. I played, I felt good and then, woah, you sit on the bench four or five games, how do you recover from that?
"That was something I had to learn, but I have a lot of great memories from Roma, and [I had] some great games.
"Especially in the second season, I ended it with seven goals. That was not bad, but just the end of the season - it was not how I hoped [it would be], and I think [for Roma] also.
"It was also in the coronavirus time. And that was not a good time for me, because I was doing well and I was selected for the national team [for Euro 2020], but that got cancelled because of coronavirus, and after that it was not so good.
"I just want to play. I love the sport, so if I don't play four games in a row, or I come in for 50 minutes, I'm not happy with that and I'm still young, so I want to play I want to show my qualities and that's why I chose to go on loan."
One of those loan spells saw Kluivert play alongside Edinson Cavani at Valencia.
"Of course, you learn a lot from somebody like that because the career he has had is unbelievable," Kluivert said of the former Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United striker.
"The goals he scored - it's unbelievable how many - and I learned a lot. It's just the small details, or how he works in the gym.
"It's the small things that make you think 'This is what a top player does', and it's good to learn from these people that have achieved things that you want to achieve.
"So I'm very happy that I've played with him and I learned some great stuff from him."
Espanyol were relegated from LaLiga after a dramatic draw with fellow strugglers Valencia on Sunday.
Luis Garcia's side will not be playing top-flight football next term after Samuel Lino's 93rd-minute goal snatched a 2-2 draw for Valencia, sending Espanyol down.
The White and Blues will join already relegated Elche in dropping down to the Segunda Division, while a host of other teams, including Real Valladolid, Celta Vigo, Almeria and Valencia, remain in danger.
Valladolid are in 18th place with one game remaining, one point behind Celta and Almeria, and two points adrift of Valencia, Getafe and Cadiz in a congested battle for survival.
LaLiga's handling of the "absolutely disgraceful" instances of racist abuse towards Vinicius Junior has been "completely inadequate".
That was the message from Kick It Out chair Sanjay Bhandari after Vinicius was subjected to more abuse by sections of the crowd at Valencia's win over Real Madrid last Sunday.
Valencia's punishments for the incident were reduced on appeal, with the partial closure of Mestalla Stadium cut from five matches to three and their financial penalty also sliced.
Bhandari, chair of the organisation aiming to eradicate racism from football, says the Spanish Football Federation and LaLiga president Javier Tebas have failed to support Vinicius.
"I think the treatment we've seen of Vinicius has been absolutely disgraceful," Bhandari told Stats Perform at the Football Business Awards.
"It's 10 or 11 games, it's not just this last weekend, it's been happening over the course of the last two seasons.
"The response of the Spanish authorities has been completely inadequate and it's actually been worse than inadequate because it's made the matter worse.
"The way Javier Tebas, who runs LaLiga, responded trying to blame Vinicius and treating him as if he's a problem when actually he's the victim… it's really sort of going back 30 or 40 years."
Tebas was a vocal critic after Vinicius labelled LaLiga racist, the league's president criticising the 22-year-old for "not informing himself properly" before subsequently apologising for those comments.
The incident – and Tebas' reaction to it – sparked widespread condemnation of LaLiga and Spanish football's relationship with race, with Bhandari calling for further action on the issues.
He added: "They need to get on with taking more concrete steps to kick discrimination out of Spanish football, it's not acceptable to have whole stands of fans doing monkey chants.
"Making monkey noises and shouting monkey to Vinicius, that's totally unacceptable and there shouldn't be any deflection and making excuses for that kind of behaviour, which is what we have seen.
"They need to get on it and if that means closing the stand, that's a good step. We welcome that and fines are a move in the right direction.
"But if it doesn't stop that should move to points deductions and further sanctions."
Valencia have had their partial stadium closure reduced to three matches and their fine cut to 27,000 euros following the racist abuse of Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior by fans.
The Spanish Football Federation appeals committee said that it had decided to “partially uphold” Valencia’s appeal.
It means the partial closure of the Mestalla Stadium has come down from five matches, with an initial 45,000 euros (£39,000) punishment reduced by 18,000 euros.
Vinicius threatened to leave the pitch in the second half of Real Madrid’s LaLiga match against Valencia on Sunday after being subjected to alleged monkey chants from the crowd and Madrid, who said the abuse constituted a “hate crime”, filed a complaint with the Spanish State Attorney General’s Office.
Valencia had 10 working days to file an appeal to the appeals committee.
LaLiga players and officials called for racism to be tackled in Spain in the wake of Sunday’s match.
Before Tuesday night’s games between Real Valladolid and Barcelona, and Celta Vigo and Girona, players from both sides, as well as the match officials, stood behind banners which read “Racism, out of football”.
Vinicius was set to serve a two or three-match ban after being sent off at Valencia, but Spain’s competition committee – a body formed by one member from LaLiga, one from the Spanish Sports Council (CSD) and one from RFEF (Spanish FA) – has rescinded that red card.
LaLiga, meanwhile, said it would request greater jurisdiction to punish clubs whose fans were guilty of racist abuse after feeling “powerless” at the lack of current sanctions in the wake of the latest Vinicius incident.
According to the country’s law, LaLiga can currently only identify and report incidents, and punishment is rarely handed out.
Four people were arrested in Spain on Tuesday under suspicion of hanging an effigy of Vinicius off a bridge in January.
An inflatable doll dressed in a Vinicius shirt was hung from the railings with a banner that read ‘Madrid hates Real Madrid’ ahead of Real’s Copa del Rey game with city rivals Atletico at the start of the year.
And Spanish police confirmed on Tuesday that four suspects had been apprehended.
LaLiga president Javier Tebas has apologised for suggesting Vinicius Junior was being “manipulated” when the Real Madrid winger called out racism he has suffered in Spain.
The Brazil international took to social media to speak out after being abused in Sunday’s game at Valencia, saying it was a problem he had endured throughout the league.
Tebas’ response on Twitter, in which he said “Before you criticise and insult LaLiga, you need to inform yourself well, Vini Jr. Don’t let yourself be manipulated”, was roundly criticised for not addressing the issue and the LaLiga boss has now said sorry.
“I think that the message, and the intention I had, was not understood by a significant number (of people), especially in Brazil,” he told ESPN Brazil.
“I did not want to attack Vinicius, but if most people understood it that way, I need to apologise. It was not my intention, I expressed myself badly, at a bad time.
“But I had no intention of attacking Vinicius, but rather clarifying a situation, because Vinicius had recorded a video supporting LaLiga’s actions.”
Tebas, in defending the league’s approach – especially in relation to Vinicius – added: “If I hurt someone, they thought I was racist, it’s far from reality.
“I feel sorry for what happened, and that’s why we denounced it. And we didn’t just denounce it, we took special actions at his games.
“We spoke to the clubs, so that they could provide more security, identify fans. LaLiga takes care of Vinicius. And, if they misunderstood what happened I have to apologise.”
Vinicius threatened to leave the pitch in the second half at the Mestalla after being subjected to alleged monkey chants and Real, who said the incident constituted a “hate crime”, filed a complaint with the Spanish State Attorney General’s Office.
Valencia were given a partial stadium ban for five matches and fined 45,000 euros (£39,000) – a punishment the club called “totally disproportionate” as they confirmed they would lodge an appeal, while head coach Ruben Baraja vowed to fight back against “smears”.
England manager Gareth Southgate has led calls for stricter punishment since his side came close to walking off the field after players were subjected to racial abuse during a match in Bulgaria in 2019.
“It is a disgusting situation. I think it is so bad that it looks like it is going to force change. I am hoping there will be something positive to come from it,” Southgate said on Wednesday.
“If anyone suggests to me we don’t have a problem in society with racism then there is another example of what we are dealing with, and more examples of people burying their heads in the sand, quite frankly.
“Hopefully it is a story that doesn’t just disappear in 24-48 hours without there being some significant change.”
Vinicius, whose red card against Valencia on Sunday was rescinded, missed Real’s game at home to Rayo Vallecano with a minor knee complaint but was at the ground to see his team-mates wear shirts with his number and name on the back before kick-off.
Valencia head coach Ruben Baraja has said his club will fight back against “smears” after they were handed a five-game partial stadium closure and hefty fine following the racist abuse aimed at Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior.
Speaking at a press conference, Baraja stressed he was “absolutely against racism”, but echoed Valencia’s earlier claim that the sanction was “unfair and disproportionate”, and added: “I am not going to allow the Valencia CF fans and Mestalla to be smeared with labels that do not represent us.
“Just as a player rightly fights back against insults and I support that with all my might, we as a club and a fanbase rebel against those who, during the days since the game, have accused us of being what we are not.”
Vinicius threatened to leave the pitch in the second half of Sunday’s LaLiga match at the Mestalla after being subjected to alleged monkey chants from the crowd and Real Madrid, who said the incident constituted a “hate crime”, filed a complaint with the Spanish State Attorney General’s Office.
In response, Valencia have been ordered to shut the Mario Kempes south stand, where the alleged abuse happened, for five matches and have also been fined 45,000 euros (£39,000) by the Spanish football federation (RFEF).
Reacting to that sanction, Valencia said in a strongly worded statement on Tuesday evening: “Valencia CF wishes to show its total disagreement and indignation at the unfair and disproportionate penalty imposed by the competition committee on the club with the closure of the stand for five games.
“Valencia CF wants to publicly denounce that in this resolution of the RFEF competition committee they show 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.
“Valencia CF has condemned, condemns and will condemn in the most energetic way any act of racism or violence. These behaviours have no place in football or in society and we will continue to act in the most forceful way to eradicate this scourge.
“For this reason, Valencia CF is collaborating from the first minute with the police and all relevant authorities to clarify the events that occurred last Sunday.
“In addition, it has applied the maximum possible sanction with the expulsion for life from our stadium to the fans that the police have identified for their racist behaviour.
“For this reason we consider that penalising and depriving all the fans who were not involved in these unfortunate incidents from seeing their team is a totally disproportionate, unfair and unprecedented measure against which we will fight.
“The fight against racism requires the real commitment of all the parties involved without using it as a pretext to incur serious injustices.
“Valencia CF will appeal to the last instance the closure of the stand, a sanction that it considers totally unfair and one more offence in the latest disciplinary decisions that have been taken against the club. Valencia CF asks for the utmost respect and rigour for our institution and fans.”
In announcing the punishment against Valencia, the RFEF said in a statement: “The competition committee has sanctioned Valencia CF with the partial closure of the Mestalla stadium for five matches, more specifically the Mario Kempes south stand, following the events that occurred during the league match between the local team and Real Madrid CF.
“It is considered proven that, as reflected by the referee in his minutes, there were racist shouts at Vinicius, a Real Madrid CF player, during the aforementioned match, altering the normal course of the match and considering the infractions very serious.”
LaLiga players and officials called for racism to be tackled in Spain in the wake of Sunday’s match.
Before Tuesday night’s games between Real Valladolid and Barcelona, and Celta Vigo and Girona, players from both sides, as well as the match officials, stood behind banners which read ‘Racism, out of football’.
LaLiga shared a pre-match clip from the Celta-Girona game on its official Twitter account with the hashtag #JUNTOSContraElRacismo (#TOGETHERagainstRacism).
The footage also showed a supporter holding up a placard with ‘No Al Racismo’ (No to Racism) written on it.
There were similar sentiments at the Valladolid-Barcelona game as fans showed their support for Brazil international Vinicius.
Barcelona forward Raphinha removed his shirt when substituted to show a message which read: “As long as the colour of the skin is more important than the brightness of the eyes, there will be war.”
Vinicius was not included in Real’s 23-man squad for Wednesday night’s LaLiga match against Rayo Vallecano at the Bernabeu.
The forward’s red card against Valencia had been rescinded by the RFEF but the 22-year-old did not train on Tuesday, with Real coach Carlo Ancelotti saying the winger had some discomfort in his knee.
Valencia will appeal against their five-game partial stadium closure and hefty fine following the racist abuse aimed at Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior, calling the sanction “unfair and disproportionate”.
Vinicius threatened to leave the pitch in the second half of Sunday’s LaLiga match at the Mestalla after being subjected to alleged monkey chants from the crowd and Real Madrid, who said the incident constituted a “hate crime”, filed a complaint with the Spanish State Attorney General’s Office.
In response, the club have been ordered to shut the Mario Kempes south stand, where the alleged abuse happened, for five matches and have also been fined 45,000 euros (£39,000) by the Spanish football federation (RFEF).
Valencia said in a strongly worded statement: “Valencia CF wishes to show its total disagreement and indignation at the unfair and disproportionate penalty imposed by the competition committee on the club with the closure of the stand for five games.
“Valencia CF wants to publicly denounce that in this resolution of the RFEF competition committee they show 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.
“Valencia CF has condemned, condemns and will condemn in the most energetic way any act of racism or violence. These behaviours have no place in football or in society and we will continue to act in the most forceful way to eradicate this scourge.
“For this reason, Valencia CF is collaborating from the first minute with the police and all relevant authorities to clarify the events that occurred last Sunday.
“In addition, it has applied the maximum possible sanction with the expulsion for life from our stadium to the fans that the police have identified for their racist behaviour.
“For this reason we consider that penalising and depriving all the fans who were not involved in these unfortunate incidents from seeing their team is a totally disproportionate, unfair and unprecedented measure against which we will fight.
“The fight against racism requires the real commitment of all the parties involved without using it as a pretext to incur serious injustices.
“Valencia CF will appeal to the last instance the closure of the stand, a sanction that it considers totally unfair and one more offence in the latest disciplinary decisions that have been taken against the club. Valencia CF asks for the utmost respect and rigour for our institution and fans.”
An RFEF statement on Tuesday night read: “The competition committee has sanctioned Valencia CF with the partial closure of the Mestalla stadium for five matches, more specifically the Mario Kempes south stand, following the events that occurred during the league match between the local team and Real Madrid CF.
“It is considered proven that, as reflected by the referee in his minutes, there were racist shouts at Vinicius, a Real Madrid CF player, during the aforementioned match, altering the normal course of the match and considering the infractions very serious.
“In addition, an economic sanction of 45,000 euros (£39,000) is imposed on Valencia.”
LaLiga players and officials called for racism to be tackled in Spain in the wake of Sunday’s match.
Before Tuesday night’s games between Real Valladolid and Barcelona, and Celta Vigo and Girona, players from both sides, as well as the match officials, stood behind banners which read ‘Racism, out of football’.
LaLiga shared a pre-match clip from the Celta-Girona game on its official Twitter account with the hashtag #JUNTOSContraElRacismo (#TOGETHERagainstRacism).
The footage also showed a supporter holding up a placard with ‘No Al Racismo’ (No to Racism) written on it.
There were similar sentiments at the Valladolid-Barcelona game as fans showed their support for Brazil international Vinicius.
Barcelona forward Raphinha removed his shirt when substituted to show a message which read: “As long as the colour of the skin is more important than the brightness of the eyes, there will be war.”
Real Madrid say racism directed at Vinicius Junior constitutes a ‘hate crime’ and have filed a complaint with the Spanish State Attorney General’s Office.
Brazil forward Vinicius was the subject of an alleged racist attack during Real’s 1-0 LaLiga defeat at Valencia on Sunday.
The game was paused after the break as Vinicius pointed out to the referee those who were allegedly abusing him in the stands at the Mestalla – and the 22-year-old later took to social media to say racism is ‘normal’ in LaLiga.
“Real Madrid CF shows its strongest revulsion and condemns the events that took place yesterday against our player Vinicius Junior,” the club said in a strongly-worded statement on Monday.
“These facts constitute a direct attack on the coexistence model of our social and democratic state of law.
“Real Madrid considers that such attacks also constitute a hate crime, for which reason it has filed the corresponding complaint with the state attorney general’s office, specifically with the prosecutor’s office against hate crimes and discrimination, so that the facts can be investigated and clear responsibilities.
“Article 124 of the Spanish constitution establishes the functions of the public prosecutor’s office to promote the action of justice in defence of legality and the rights of citizens and the public interest.
“For this reason, and given the seriousness of the events that occurred, Real Madrid has turned to the sate attorney general’s office, without prejudice to its appearance as a private prosecution in the proceedings that are being initiated.”
In a statement on Instagram, Vinicius – who was sent off for violent conduct in added time of Real’s defeat following an altercation with striker Hugo Duro – said: “It wasn’t the first time, not the second and not the third. Racism is normal in LaLiga.
“The competition thinks it’s normal, so does the Federation and the opponents encourage it. I am so sorry.
“The championship that once belonged to Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Cristiano (Ronaldo) and (Lionel) Messi, today belongs to the racists.
“A beautiful nation, which welcomed me and I love, but which accepted to export the image to the world from a racist country.
“Sorry for the Spaniards who do not agree, but today, in Brazil, Spain is known as a country of racists.
“And unfortunately with everything that happens on a weekly basis, I have no way to defend. I agree. But I’m strong and will go to the end against the racists. Even though it’s far from here.”
LaLiga president Javier Tebas responded to Vinicius’ post on Sunday by accusing the forward for “criticising and insulting” the league.
In another tweet on Monday, Tebas said: “Neither Spain nor @LaLiga are racist. It is very unfair to say this.
“How @LaLiga we denounce and fight racism with all rigidity within our competences. This season there were 9 cases of racist insults (8 of them for insults against @vinijr)
“We always identify the violators and take the complaint to the legislating bodies. It doesn’t matter that they are few, they are relentless.
“We cannot allow the image of a competition that is about the symbol of peoples union to be tarnished, where more than 200 players are of black origin in 42 clubs that receive in each round the respect and affection of the fans, being the racism an extremely specific case (9 complaints) that we are going to eliminate.”
Valencia released a statement on their club website condemning what happened and confirming they will investigate what happened.
Former England and Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand took to Instagram in support of Vinicius and questioned player protection.
“Bro you need protecting….who is protecting Vinicius Junior in Spain??” Ferdinand posted. “He receives a red card after being choked and receiving racial abuse during the game… wtf.
“How many times do we need to see this young man subjected to this s**t?? I see pain, I see disgust, I see him needing help… and the authorities don’t do s**t to help him.
“People need to stand together and demand more from the authorities that run our game.
“No one deserves this, yet you are allowing it. There needs to be a unified approach to this otherwise it will be swept under the carpet AGAIN.”
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