Real Madrid have been hit with a double injury blow as Vinicius Junior joins Eduardo Camavinga on the sidelines, after a hamstring injury. Both players are expected to be out of action for the Spanish capital for 8-10 weeks, missing on out important matches. The setback comes after Vinicius ruptured his femoris biceps in his left leg, canceling his initial one-month recovery estimate. The Brazilian star will be sidelined for crucial fixtures, including Real Madrid’s final Champions League group stage matches against Napoli and Union Berlin.
Vinicius Junior – Getty image In La Liga, he will miss games against Cadiz, Granada, Real Betis, Villarreal, Alaves, among four others. Vinicius’s absence also extends to the Spanish Super Cup, including the semi-final against Atletico Madrid. Real Madrid hopes for his return ahead of the third Madrid derby in early February and the start of the Champions League knockout rounds.
Vinicius having a faceoff with Valencia fans who racially abused him. Source: Getty However, on Tuesday, May 23, the Spanish football federation’s Competition Committee said they’ve accepted Real Madrid’s complaint and rescinded Vinicius’ red card for hitting Valencia’s Hugo Duro after reviewing the video footage. In the footage the referee was shown before making the red card decision, a clip of Duro grabbing Real Madrid player around the neck with his arm was omitted. Xavi who initially offered his support to Vinicius over the racial abuse he suffered, said last night that the red card decision should have stood after the altercation with Hugo Duro. He said; “I don’t know if overturning Vinicius Junior’s red card is fair. My thoughts are that racism should be condemned. 
Barcelona Coach, Xavi Hernandez at a match in Camp Nou. Source: Getty “It’s a different thing what the players do on the pitch. There was aggression there so I am surprised that they rescinded the red card.” Xavi had previously said the game should have been stopped after the abuse. He who spoke at a press conference days ago said; “Yes, matches should be stopped. It is the only profession in which insults are accepted. I don’t see any baker or teacher being insulted at work. All this has to be stopped. Try insulting a building worker. I’m sure a brick will fall on your head. “It doesn’t matter what shirt you wear. Vinicius is a person before he is a footballer. We have to defend the football professional. I don’t understand as a person, as a citizen, that you have to put up with insults. 
Barcelona Coach, Xavi Hernandez. Source: Getty “We have to get together and get tough. It’s an educational issue. You don’t have to go to a football stadium to insult. If I go to the theatre and I don’t like the play, I leave, but I don’t insult. “We have to condemn that and educate people. We are in an environment where we are insulted and called names. It is very difficult not to bounce back. We don’t have an educated environment in the world of football.” 
Vinicius having a faceoff with Valencia fans who racially abused him. Source: Getty The initial footage omitted Duro grabbing Vinicius around the neck with his arm moment before the 22-year-old Brazilian slapped him. Duro who is a Spaniard received no punishment as the on-field referee Ricardo De Burgos Bengoetxea was not shown the events which led to the Brazil international’s reaction. Vinicius was set to receive a ban that would see him miss the rest of the season but he will now be available for selection again after the decision was overturned. The VAR official on the day of the incident, Ignacio Iglesias Villanueva, has also been stood down for the time being. The RFEF has also launched a campaign under the slogan ‘Racists, out of football’, which aims to eradicate racist and xenophobic attitudes from football by raising awareness among fans that discriminatory insults or attitudes will not be tolerated. 
Vinicius Jr during a match against Valencia. Source: Getty Valencia’s south stand will be closed and the club has 10 working days to appeal. The RFEF said in a statement; “The Competition Committee has sanctioned Valencia CF with the partial closure of the Mestalla stadium for five matches, more specifically the Mario Kempes south stand, following the events that occurred during the match between the home team and Real Madrid CF. “It is considered proven that, as reflected by the referee in his minutes, there were racist shouts at Vinicius, a Real Madrid CF player, during the aforementioned match, altering the normal course of the match and considering the infractions very serious. In addition, an economic sanction of 45,000 euros is imposed on Valencia. 
Vinicius Jr. identifies fans that racially abused him. Source: Getty “It is possible to file an appeal, within 10 working days, before the Appeals Committee.” Vinicius has been the target of racist abuse multiple times this season and the latest incident has seen him receive support from the footballing world. Before the recent sanction, there has been widespread condemnation of how the incident has been handled, including from the Brazilian government. 
As Madrid prepared to take the set piece, Vinicius began pointing animatedly at a fan in the crowd behind the goal. It was obvious that something had been said. After long discussions with teammates and referee Ricardo De Burgos Bengoetxea, who asked if Vinicius wanted play to be suspended, the game continued, with the crowd being warned over the stadium megaphone about racist abuse. Later, in time added on, a mass brawl in the Valencia box ended with Vinicius being sent off following a red card for slapping Valencia’s Hugo Duro. There was then a further confrontation with the Valencia bench on Vinicius’ way off the pitch. 
They were heard saying that the 22-year-old Brazilian striker is a monkey in a video published by the streaming company Dazn on social media. Vinicius was also subjected to 10 fouls during an ill-tempered contest in the Balearic Islands. He is also the most-fouled player in Europe’s top five leagues by a considerable margin this season. While Mallorca has decided not to deliver an official statement on the actions of certain sections of their support, the club’s coach Javier Aguirre who spoke during a radio interview, denied that his players had targeted Vinicius during the match. Vinicius has been subjected to racial abuse by fans on at least three occasions; at the Camp Nou against Barcelona in November 2021, at Atlético Madrid in September 2022, and at Valladolid in late December 2022. 
Spanish police are also investigating a possible hate crime against him after a mannequin wearing his No 20 shirt was hung from a bridge in front of the club’s training centre before the Madrid derby two weeks ago. Prosecutors in Madrid decided not to press charges over racist chanting aimed at Vinícius in September after finding it had “lasted a few seconds” and had not constituted a crime. In December Vinicius accused La Liga of continuing to do nothing about racist fans at matches, after videos on social media showed some shouting abuse and throwing objects at him the previous day at Valladolid. La Liga responded by issuing a statement condemning all forms of hate speech and saying it was following up on instances of racism at the match. Its president, Javier Tebas, said Vinicius’ accusations were “unfair and untrue”.