Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti denounced on Friday the accusations of a Spanish media against his Brazilian player Vinicius Junior, as part of the investigation into the racist attacks of which he was the victim during a match played at Valencia in spring.
On Thursday, Super Deporte, a media outlet that covers Valencia CF news, published on the front page of its home page a photo of the Real player wearing a big nose and in the caption the term “Pinochius”, in reference to Pinocchio, a character of a children’s story whose nose grows with every lie.
In response, Ancelotti accused Super Deporte of wanting to “hijack” the debate. “The fact is that Vinicius was the victim of racist acts,” he proclaimed on Friday. “Whether it’s once, ten times, a thousand times, or ten thousand times, the problem is the same, we have a player who is the victim of racist insults,” added the Italian coach. Before continuing: “That the media wants to discredit the victim’s testimony pains me.”
Vinicius Jr was heard on Thursday by a Valencia judge as part of the investigation into this racist incident which occurred on May 21 during a Spanish championship match between Valencia and Real Madrid. During this testimony, according to local media, the Brazilian player said he was “offended” by the insults received, which concerned his “skin color”.
The Valencia club, without denying the facts, said it was surprised and outraged by the Madrid player’s accusations. He demanded that Vinicius publicly correct his statements so as not to stigmatize the public at the Mestalla stadium. In the 70th minute of the match between the two teams, Vinicius pointed at a Valencia supporter, accusing him of calling him a “monkey”. The meeting was interrupted for several minutes.