- Brazilian reacted to behaviour of fans
- Threat of the game being suspended
- Blancos star then saw red for lashing out
WHAT HAPPENED? The Blancos found themselves trailing at the Mestalla when Vinicius was subjected to more discriminatory comments and actions from the stands. The Brazilian identified those responsible, leading to the game being paused for several minutes as those in the crowd were warned that the game would be suspended if they did not change their behaviour. The match did continue, but Vinicius was then shown a red card in stoppage time following an unsightly melee that saw him slap an arm into the face of Hugo Duro, with Real eventually losing 1-0.
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Vinicius has been subjected to racist abuse on an alarmingly regular basis in the 2022-23 campaign, with eight complaints already filed by La Liga.
WHAT NEXT? It remains to be seen what action will be taken, and by which authorities, following another chaotic fixture in the Spanish top-flight that has seen the division make headlines for too many wrong reasons.