NEWS STORY. 21/05/2023
Carlo Ancelotti spoke in the press room at Mestalla stadium after the LaLiga match against Valencia. The coach spoke about everything that happened during the match: "I'm not the best person to say what to do, but you can't play football like that. I would say the same if we'd won, we didn't play well, it's difficult to look for motivation. This is too serious, they threw a ball during an attack, they insult Vinicius all the time and then they show him a red card".
"I'm very sad, we have to put an end to this because it's 2023, racism shouldn't exist. It's true that now there's a protocol, the referee has explained that first you have to warn people and if they do it again, we go home".
Did you think about replacing Vini Jr?
"I talked to him during the match. The atmosphere was very heated, very bad. I asked him if he wanted to continue playing because the atmosphere was racist, it didn't feel right to me. I've never thought about taking a player off due to racism. It's never happened to me. Not like that. It's unacceptable. There is a problem in the Spanish league, it's not Vini Jr. Vini Jr. is the victim".
"We're all standing with him, but we're sad. I haven't spoken to him because he wasn't angry, he was sad. The game should have been stopped because it wasn't just that one person going crazy, but the whole stadium went crazy".
What is the solution?
"Although there are many anti-violence allegations, nothing has ever happened. The solution for me is to stop the match. It's obvious, this can't carry on. He's the player who gets the most fouls and the most insults. The referee said he should carry on and I said to him that I was going to take him off. He told me that if it were to happen again, the protocol would be followed. I have never considered subbing a player because he's being insulted".
Vini Jr.’s sending-off
“The stadium was shouting 'monkey, monkey' at him. He's just a kid who likes to play football, he wanted to keep going, but in this situation it's so tough. The VAR has invented an aggression that didn't exist. He tried to free himself from an assault and he was sent off. Our fans won't be able to enjoy watching him in the next game".
"Did the referee stop the match because they were calling him a fool? No. He stopped because he initiated the racism protocol. It doesn't matter whether it's a monkey or a fool. The referee stopped the match because of a racism issue. If he is called a fool, he doesn't stop the match".
The fan who insulted Vini Jr.
“I don't know what happened to him. I've never seen a whole stadium making racist insults. I've never seen it happen before. All the young players have to improve, but we have to take into account that when a whole stadium insults you, young players are not able to stay calm. His reaction is normal. The club, myself and his teammates support him all the way”.
