Vinicius 2022-23Getty/ GOAL

Vinicius Junior racism case: La Liga reduce Valencia punishment with fine and stadium closure altered

Valencia's punishment for racist fan chanting towards Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior has been reduced following an appeal.

The La Liga club found themselves in the middle of a controversy after their fans targeted Vinicius with racist abuse during their clash against Real Madrid last weekend.

The league had initially imposed a fine of £45,000 on the club and had ordered them to close their Mario Kempes South Stand for five home games. But the Court of Appeals has now opted to reduce both punishments, with the fine set at £25,000 and the partial stadium closure reduced from five home games to three.

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Valencia have further appealed so that the partial stadium closure does not apply to their final home game of the season against Espanyol on Sunday, with the club still in danger of being relegated from the Spanish top flight.

Vinicius was shown a red card against Valencia for slapping opponent Hugo Duro. La Liga, though, later overturned their decision as the Brazilian was subjected to racist abuse throughout the game.

Several stars including Kylian Mbappe and Neymar showed their solidarity by sending messages of support to the Brazilian star, while La Liga president Javier Tebas has apologised to the Real man after they became embroiled in a war of words on social media.