Real Madrid superstar Vinicius Jr appears in court

Real Madrid sensation and Brazilian international Vinicius Junior has been appearing in court over the racism he faced last season in La Liga.

The Brazilian winger is widely regarded as one of the exciting young talents in football having come up clutch in big moments during games for Real Madrid in both La Liga as well as in the Champions League.

He dazzles on the ball and causes full-backs to have sleepless nights about facing him and how the youngster could end up embarrassing them on live TV to millions, but his talent seems to rub people the wrong way in the stands.

Vinicius has been the subject of countless racist remarks and attacks during his time in Madrid but over the last 12 months, it’s seemingly been taken to a new level with fans not liking how he plays football and seemingly not liking the colour of his skin.

Why is Vinicius Jr appearing in court?

Just at the start of 2023, as Real Madrid were preparing to take on their arch-rivals Atletico Madrid, a chilling and disgusting effigy was seen hanging from a bridge that appeared to look very similar to Vinicius.

It shook the footballing world and a lot of people in Spain, however, Vincius’ position and situation has not gotten any better having received taunting and racist remarks when playing in Spain, specifically against Valencia.

This is why the winger has been appearing in court this week and testifying about racist remarks that were reportedly lodged his way during a game in La Liga last season away from Madrid and at the Mestalla stadium.

Valencia CF asks Vinicius Jr. to publicly rectify his alleged statement this morning after saying the whole stadium was chanting.

Here Valencia fans welcoming Vinicius with “Vinicius is Mo*nkey” chants not just 3 fans as Valencia claimed pic.twitter.com/R3COK6Q6nM https://t.co/inzcWabSLZ

— Real Madrid Info ³⁵ (@RMadridInfo) October 5, 2023

The court hearing was being held in Valencia given that’s where the incident took place, however, Vinicius was able to testify and give his version of events via a video link from a courthouse in Madrid where he lives.

According to ESPN sources, Vinicius has insisted that he felt insulted and offended by the racist remarks that were directed at him during a game against Valencia back in May.

Valencia snap back at Vinicius Jr’s statement

Three Valencia fans are being accused of using racist remarks and now face hate crime charges and have already had punishment come their way in the form of a life ban from the Mestalla stadium.

While Valencia did take that stance and appeared to act seriously when it came to this vile attack, they have now called on Vinicius to rectify his testimony.

The Spanish club said: “The Club is fully aware of the seriousness of this matter. Racism has no place in football or in society, but it cannot be fought with fallacies or unfounded lies… The Valencian fans cannot be classified as racist and Valencia CF demands that Vinicius Jr. publicly rectify his alleged statement this morning.”

It’s a murky situation that will likely see a lot of back and forth between the defence and Vinicius’ team but at the end of the day, racism has no place in sport, football or the world in general and tougher penalties must fall the way of people who commit hate crimes.