The Spanish league match at the Mestalla on Sunday, May 21, was marred by racist chants from supporters, and Vinicius Jr was left visibly upset as he tried to hold back tears. The 22yr old winger was sent off late in added time after an issue with Valencia striker Hugo Duro.. Valencia responded to the racist chants, of supporters promising they will take strong action against their supporters.

'Valencia CF will ban for life any fan. who racially abused Vinícius Jr,' they state on Monday afternoon. 'The Club strongly condemns this behavior, and that it has no place in football and does not correspond to the values of Valencia CF and our fanbase.' Vinicius Jr took to Twitter after the match to speak about his experience, and declared that LaLiga now 'belongs to racists'.

 'It wasn't the first time, nor the second, nor the third. Racism is normal in a La Liga. The competition thinks it's normal, the Federation does too and the opponents encourage it. I'm so sorry,' he wrote.
[18:13, 5/22/2023] Olorundare Kayode: The championship that once belonged to Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Cristiano, and Messi today belongs to racists. A beautiful nation, which welcomed me and which I love, but which agreed to export the image of a racist country to the world. 'I'm sorry for the Spaniards who don't agree, but today, in Brazil, Spain is known as a country of racists. And unfortunately, for everything that happens each week, I have no defense. 'But I am strong and I will go to the end against racists. Even if far from here.'