The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and technical committee of referees have reportedly decided to sack six VAR referees after Vinicius Junior was racially abused.
- RFEF sack 6 VAR referees
- Statement yet to come
- Vinicius receives global support
What is the news?
A report by MARCA states that the six official have been sacked after the Football Federation and referee committee were made aware of the handling of the situation by the VAR officials at that game. Main reason for the decision are the images shown to referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea which led to Vinicus’ red card were not complete. The images shown to the on-field referee started at Vinicius alleged ‘slap’ but completely missed the actions by some of the Valencia players in the build-up.
The backstory
Vinicius became the centre of Real Madrid’s 1-0 loss to Valencia on Sunday. First the Brazilian got into a heated confrontation with the Valencia supporters, who reportedly racially abused the forward. Later on the 22-year-old was shown a red card after a bust-up between several Madrid and Valencia players. Vinicius was the only player to be sent off in the game, whilst images after the game showed that several Valencia players manhandled the Madrid star and should have been given a red card as well.
What next?
There has not been an official statement by the RFEF thus far but it is expected that actions will be made clear soon. Meanwhile, both Vinicius Junior and Real Madrid have released statements on the racial abuse. The Brazilian is widely supported on social media and many great athletes and football colleagues have stepped up, expressing their support to Vinicius.
