Valencia has been hit with sanctions that include a partial stadium closure for five matches, following the racist abuse aimed at Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr. during a match at Mestalla Stadium on Sunday.
In addition to the stadium closure, Valencia has also been fined 45,000 euros (£39,000). Spanish police have also arrested three individuals in connection with the incident.
In response, Valencia expressed their disagreement with the decision to partially close their stadium, labeling it as “disproportionate, unjust, and unprecedented.”
They have announced their intention to appeal this specific aspect of the sanction in a statement released by the club.
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It reads, “Valencia have collaborated from the first minute with the police and all relevant authorities to clarify the events that occurred.
“In addition, we have applied the maximum possible sanction with the ban for life from our stadium for racist behaviour of the fans identified by police.”
The closure will apply to the Mestalla Stadium’s south stand, an area a clearly angry and emotional Vinicius was seen pointing to during Sunday’s second half before reporting the issue to the referee.
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He was sent off in the 97th minute of the 1-0 defeat, but with the red card now overturned, he will be available for Wednesday’s game against Real Vallecano.
Vinicius was dismissed following a video assistant referee (VAR) check for pushing Valencia forward Hugo Duro to the floor. However, the footage the VAR showed the on-field referee did not include the part where Duro grabbed the Brazilian around the neck before the incident, which is also a red card offence.
The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) said that the referee’s decision to dismiss Vinicius was due to him being “deprived of a decisive part of the facts”, adding that it was “impossible for him to properly assess what happened”.
Explaining the partial stadium closure, the RFEF added: “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.”
The match was paused in the second half as an incensed Vinicius reported opposition fans to the referee.
