The duel between Valencia and Real Madrid was highly emotional – with the better end for the guests. However, the head coach of the guests does not want to accept the red card for Vinicius Junior.
When Cesar Soto Grado, the referee of the La Liga duel between Valencia and Real, pulled out the red card for Vinicius Junior after seeing the TV images on the sidelines, a brief commotion broke out on the sidelines. The Brazilian did not want to accept the sending off for his push to the neck of Valencia keeper Stole Dimitrievski and had to be stopped by several people from attacking the referee. It was only with the help of Antonio Rüdiger that the attacker could be moved into the players’ tunnel at all.
With a few hours’ distance, the attacker wrote at X: “Sorry and thanks team”. But whether this can be understood as an admission of guilt remains open. Real, in any case, had turned the game around even with a man less and won in a dramatic way, wants to protest against the red card and the expected suspension. “We will appeal, let’s see what happens,” said head coach Carlo Ancelotti. ‘I don’t think he should be suspended. In my opinion, it wasn’t a red card.’
From Real’s point of view, this is a perfectly understandable perspective, as the push was preceded by Dimitrievski’s provocation, who then fell in an extremely theatrical manner. The whole affair is charged in any case by the explosive history linking Valencia and Vinicius Junior. In May 2023, the now 24-year-old was racially insulted by supporters of Blanquinegros, which led to a game interruption and later even prison sentences for three fans.
If Vinicius is banned, there is a threat of a two-match suspension in the league, and in the worst case even exclusion from other competitions, which would be a real blow given his team’s schedule: Real will face CD Minera in the Spanish Cup on Monday. On Thursday, the Supercopa semi-final against RCD Mallorca awaits.
Regardless of the Vinicius case, Ancelotti was impressed by his team’s reaction to the various setbacks during the game. Not only the sending off, but also a goal that was disallowed for offside around an hour into the game and, above all, Jude Bellingham’s missed penalty did not stop Real from clinching their 13th win in the league and taking the lead in the table.
In particular, Ancelotti gave special praise to the late winner Bellingham, saying the 2-1 was “well-deserved” for the former Dortmund player. “He was motivated after missing the penalty. He played brilliantly for the last 30 minutes. He’s a unique player.”
