Following an incident of racist abuse directed at Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr., Valencia Football Club has received sanctions in the form of a partial stadium closure for five matches.

In response to the incident at Mestalla Stadium on Sunday, Spanish authorities have detained three people suspected of being involved in the abuse. Valencia has also been fined €45,000 (approximately £39,000).

Valencia’s south stand will be closed as part of the punishment for the designated matches. The club has a window of 10 working days to appeal the decision.

Despite being sent off in the 97th minute of the match, Vinicius Jr., 22, will not face suspension, according to the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF). As a result, the player will be available for Wednesday’s game against Real Vallecano.

The RFEF explained in a statement that the referee’s decision to dismiss Vinicius Jr. was influenced by a lack of access to critical information, which made it difficult to accurately assess the situation. They claimed that the referee was “deprived of a decisive part of the facts” and thus unable to render an appropriate decision.

The RFEF stated that “it is considered proven that, as reflected by the referee in his minutes, there were racist shouts at Vinicius, altering the normal course of the match and considering the infractions very serious.”

During the second half of the game, Vinicius Jr. reported the abusive behaviour of opposing fans to the referee, which caused the game to be stopped.

Real Madrid has reported the incidents of abuse directed at Vinicius Jr. to the Spanish prosecutor’s office as a hate crime.

Vinicius Jr. has unfortunately been subjected to racist abuse on multiple occasions this season, and this latest incident has garnered support from the footballing community at large.

The way the situation was handled has drawn widespread criticism, including from the Brazilian government. Prior to Tuesday night’s matches between Real Valladolid and Barcelona, as well as Celta Vigo and Girona, players and match officials stood behind banners that read “Racism, out of football.”

Barcelona winger Raphinha showed his support for his compatriot by displaying a message of support when he was substituted during the second half of his team’s match.

Given the criticism levelled at its handling of the Valencia incident, La Liga has announced its intention to seek “more sanctioning powers” in order to address incidents of racism.

Following the game, Vinicius Jr. and La Liga president Javier Tebas engaged in a heated Twitter exchange. The Brazilian accused La Liga of “belonging to racists” and referred to Spain as a racist country. Tebas responded by claiming that Vinicius Jr. had failed to attend two meetings to discuss anti-racism measures and urging him to gather accurate information before criticizing and defaming the league.

The Vinicius Jr. incident has once again highlighted the critical need to combat racism in football and ensure that appropriate measures are taken to protect players from such abuse.

Main Image: The Telegraph