“It's hard to put yourself in his shoes and put up with everything that's happening, the insults”: Carlo Ancelotti defends Vinicius

Vinicius a reçu un carton rouge lors du dernier match du Real Madrid. EFE – Manuel Bruque

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti came to Vinicius's defence on Sunday after the Brazilian found himself embroiled in a new controversy following his sending-off in the La Liga match against Valencia on Friday 3 January.

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“I think it's difficult (to be Vinicius, Ed.), I'm not in his shoes, but I think it must be difficult”, Ancelotti said in reaction to the red card given to Vinicius during Real Madrid's victory on the pitch of Valencia, for the postponed match of the 12th day of La Liga.

The Brazilian winger, who was returning from suspension after an accumulation of yellow cards, deliberately hit goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski in the head after an altercation between the two players, which earned him a sending off.

“It's hard to put yourself in his shoes and take everything that's happening, the insults. It's not easy, but he's trying to improve. He's sad about the red card and has apologised”, insisted the Italian tactician.

Total hostility from the Valencia crowd

The Valencia fans have not stopped insulting and mocking the Real Madrid star throughout the match, the same fans who had already hurled racist insults at him during a match in 2022.

The 24-year-old is frequently the target of racist insults in several stadiums in Spain, which often leads him to express his frustration through numerous altercations with opposing players.

“We are still convinced that it was not a red card but a yellow, so we hope he will not be suspended”, remains confident Ancelotti. Vinicius, who risks a suspension of several matches, could not participate in the Spanish Super Cup, Thursday against Mallorca in Saudi Arabia.