The RFEF Competition Committee imposed an exemplary sanction on Valencia, a partial closure of Mestalla that raised blisters in the city of Turia after it was made public -because it was known in parallel to the acquittal by the same Committee of the red that Vinicíus saw in Mestalla- and that he will appeal in the part that affects the black and white club. Specifically, Competition imposes, in addition to 45,000 euros, a Sanction of five closing matches to the Grada Mario Kempes Curva Nord, which is the one that is included in the act of the arbitrator as the place from where the alleged hate crimes were committed, which are being investigated in parallel by the police and the prosecutor’s office. Valencia has 10 days to present allegations, a process that will be carried out immediately to try at least that next Sunday the precautionary measure is granted as a lesser evil.
The surprise in Valencia due to the sanction was triple: firstly, due to its harshness, when the club understands that it is collaborating firmly and resoundingly to identify those responsible for the insults and racist gestures towards Vinícius; secondly, due to its haste, because early in the morning the issue was not expected to be dealt with by the Competition since the investigation is still open and the idea that had been transmitted from the agencies is that an extraordinary file would be opened; thirdly due to the comparative grievance, given that cases such as the alleged attack by Valverde on Baena or the invasion of the pitch in Cornellà at Espanyol-Barcelona have not yet been resolved by the Committee.
The Committee, made up of three members (LaLiga, RFEF and CSD), decided on the sanction after a meeting that lasted for 7 hours. In his 9-page writing, Competition bases its decision on the videographic evidence and the arbitration act, which reflects the activation of the protocol by throwing objects and also by racist yelling, both originating from the Grada Mario Kempes Curva Nord. “Ultimately, the intolerable racist nature of the chants that were chanted, on and off the field, by some of the fans has been verified,” it collects as a legal basis and hence articles 69 and 76.1 apply. and 2 of the RFEF Disciplinary Code.
The legal background on which he later bases his decision are:
1. Prior to the start of the match, on the occasion of the players entering the Mestalla, after getting off the Real Madrid CF bus, hundreds of fans who were stationed in the surroundings chanted: “You’re a monkey… Vinicius you are a monkey… you are a monkey, Vinicius you are a monkey”.
2. During the match, at minute 71, as stated in the Referee’s Minutes, several objects were thrown from the stands by Mario Kempes. The referee of the match went to the technical area to ask the field manager to notify the stadium over the public address system to stop throwing objects. While the referee is in the technical area, the following incident occurs with the Real Madrid CF player Vinicius Junior. The following is also stated in the arbitration report: Racist insults: At minute 73, a spectator from the south stands “Mario Kempes” addressed Real Madrid CF player No. 20 Don Vinicius José De Oliveira Do Nascimiento yelling at him: “Monkey, monkey” for which triggered the racism protocol, notifying the field delegate to make the corresponding announcement over the public address system. The match was stopped until said announcement was broadcast over the stadium’s public address system
3. At that moment, Vinicius pointed to one/several spectators in the Mario Kempes Stand indicating: “he called me a monkey” and making gestures with his hands imitating a monkey. While this incident occurs, different songs are chanted. Among them is the following: “Madridistas sons of bitches.” In addition, a spectator shouted the following: “Fucking black son of a bitch”, “I shit on your dead son of a bitch”, “Vinicius idiot”, “Fucking black son of a bitch”, “Vinicius dog (…) son bitch”, “monkey you are a fucking monkey”.
4. Next, the following group chant occurs: “fool, fool”.
5. After the above, another chant is produced emulating the sound of a monkey: “Uh, uh, uh”.
6. After the expulsion in minute 90, there is a general chant throughout the stands of “Monkey, monkey” that transitions to “Silly, silly”.
The text of the report by referee De Burgos Bengoetxea also had special relevance in the Competition resolution, at least to focus the penalty on the Mario Kempes Curva Nord Grada: “In the 73rd minute a spectator from the south stands “Mario Kempes” addressed Real Madrid CF player No. 20 Don Vinicius José De Oliveira Do Nascimiento yelling at him: “Monkey, monkey” for which reason the racism protocol was activated, notifying the field delegate to make the corresponding announcement over the public address system. The match was stopped until said announcement was broadcast over the stadium’s public address system”, the referee picked up. In addition, the referee pointed out that he activated the protocol for launching objects after in that same area “several objects” fell in the Real Madrid area.
Sixth closure of Mestalla
Mestalla thus suffers the harshest sanction in terms of the number of matches in its centenary history. To date, it had been closed on five occasions, all due to throwing objects and for only one match on a neutral field or the resumption of it behind closed doors at the Mestalla itself: in 1977, in a Valencia-Zaragoza, in 1983, against the Barcelona; in 1985, against Sevilla and in 1992, against Real Madrid. in 2007, in the Cup against Deportivo.
Closed stadiums in Spain
Other cases in the Spanish League are found in Barcelona-Las Palmas in 2019, which was played behind closed doors. The round of 16 of the Copa del Rey that faced Betis and Sevilla, due to the impact of a stick on Jordan’s head (2022) or the 2007 Betis-Sevilla match that ended at the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez due to a bottle hit by Juan de Ramos. Other closed stadiums have been Sarrià, Atocha, San Mamés or Riazor.