Real Madrid secured a 1-0 victory in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final tie against Real Sociedad on Wednesday, but it has been overshadowed by another instance of racist abuse aimed at Vinicius Junior.
The match at the Reale Arena, for which Vinicius was Real Madrid’s captain for the first time, was a frustrating one for the Brazilian superstar as he struggled to make a significant impact during his 84 minutes of action. However, it did not matter in the end as Los Blancos secured the victory that has them in the driving seat to reach this season’s Copa del Rey final.
𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗗𝗠𝗜𝗦𝗜𝗕𝗟𝗘 𝗬 𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗚𝗢𝗡𝗭𝗢𝗦𝗢
❌ Los gestos racistas de un aficionado de la Real a Vinicius pic.twitter.com/n95E8GUQSe
— Diario AS (@diarioas) February 26, 2025
Unfortunately, the evening took a sour note as Vinicius was subjected to racist abuse. Diario AS have captured the moment that a La Real supporter aimed a monkey gesture in the direction of the 24-year-old.
Depressing, this is nowhere near the first time that Vinicius has been targeted with racist abuse by opposition supporters. There have been previous incidents at the Mestalla and Son Moix to name a couple, but there have been more, and this has led to harsher punishments being introduced for offenders – with some having been threatened with prison.
It is expected that there will be reaction to this from La Real, who will almost certainly begin an investigation to find the person in question. The Spanish Football Federation may also take action, as could La Liga, despite the match not falling under their jurisdiction.
It turns out that Vinicius was not the only Real Madrid players targeted with abuse during the 90 minutes in San Sebastian, with a further report from Diario AS stating that defender Raul Asencio was subjected to chants of “Asencio, die” during the first half. The young defender, who was playing at right-back, was substituted at half time, and replaced by Lucas Vazquez.
