‘These episodes of racism can’t happen’ declares Carlo Ancelotti as Vinicius Jr. hits out at La Liga over red card

Carlo Ancelotti declared “these episodes of racism can’t happen” after Vinicius Jr. was sent off against Valencia, while the forward appeared to blame La Liga.

However after the match, Ancelotti said he was not interested in discussing football after seeing Vinicius receive a red card.

The Brazilian forward appeared to strike Valencia’s Hugo Duro in injury time after an altercation with the opposing player, but that incident followed a tense moment on the pitch when Vinicius Jr. pointed out at least one rival fan in the crowd.

Vinicius Jr. has been repeatedly made a target of racist abuse by fans throughout this season, and Ancelotti suggested the same had happened again on Sunday.

He told Movistar that he was not interested in discussing defeat, and when asked what he wanted to talk about, he said: “About what happened here. I think that’s more important. More important than a defeat, don’t you?

“I’m calm, but what happened today shouldn’t happen. For a stadium to shout “monkey” at a player and for a coach to think about taking him off for that… There’s something wrong with this league.”

Asked about Vinicius’ frame of mind, Ancelotti added: “He didn’t want to play on. I told him that I didn’t think it was fair, it wasn’t his fault, he wasn’t to blame. He continued playing, and he also got a senseless red card. That said, we have a problem.

“For me, Vinícius is one of the best in the world. These episodes of racism can’t happen, it was the whole stadium, not just one person, as on other occasions. It has to be stopped. And I would say the same if we won 3-0.”

The Italian suggested that the answer to combat racism would be to stop matches.

Discussing the referee, Ancelotti said: “I told him he has to stop the match. He told me that the protocol says that you have to report it, but he has been insulted from the first minute.

“Stop the match. For me, it’s to stop the match. It’s clear that this can’t go on, it’s impossible. He is the player who receives the most fouls and the most insults.”

On Instagram, Vinicius Jr. wrote: “The prize that racists have won was my expulsion. It’s not football, it’s La Liga.”