- Vinicius sent off against Valencia
- Red card rescinded amid racism storm
- Won't play against Rayo due to injury
WHAT HAPPENED? The Brazilian winger was shown a red card in the latter stages of Real's 1-0 loss at Valencia for appearing to slap Hugo Duro. However, Vinicius had been subjected to racist abuse throughout the contest, and La Liga announced their decision to overturn his suspension ahead of Real's next outing against Rayo. Vinicius was expected to slot straight back into Carlo Ancelotti's lineup, but The Athletic have reported that he will miss the fixture due to injury.
THE BIGGER PICTURE: The 22-year-old is struggling with discomfort in his left knee and could also be absent when Real face Sevilla at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium on Saturday. Ancelotti's side slipped to third in the Liga standings after their defeat to Valencia, one point behind arch-rivals Atletico Madrid.
AND WHAT'S MORE: The whole football world has united behind Vinicius in the wake of the ugly scenes at Mestalla, with Kylian Mbappe and Neymar among those to send messages of support to the Real star. Vinicius has taken to social media himself to slam La Liga for not doing enough to try and stamp out racism in Spain. Organisation president Javier Tebas, meanwhile, has done little to help the situation by issuing a controversial direct reply to Vinicius telling him to "inform yourself properly".
IN A PHOTO:
(C)Getty ImagesWHAT'S NEXT? Vinicius will now continue his recovery with a view to returning to action for Real at some point before the end of the season. It has been suggested that he could seek a move away from Santiago Bernabeu due to the continual racist abuse he has faced over his past two years with the Blancos, but Ancelotti has insisted that he remains fully committed to the club.
