Vinicius Jr victim again of racist abuse

Mallorca fans were filmed racially abusing Real Madrid's Brazilian forward Vinicius Jr. in their Son Moix stadium during their 1-0 upset win against the LaLiga holders on Sunday.

Supporters could be heard calling the 22-year-old Brazilian player a monkey in a video published by streaming company DAZN on social media.

Mallorca did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But in a radio interview club manager Javier Aguirre denied that his players had targeted Vinicius, who suffered 10 fouls, the most endured by any player in LaLiga this season.

Vinicius has been subjected to racial abuse by fans on at least three occasions -- at Camp Nou against Barcelona in November 2021, at Atletico in September 2022 and at Valladolid in late December 2022.

Spanish police are also investigating a possible hate crime against the Brazilian.

Coach Carlo Ancelotti defended Vinicius after the Brazilian broke the record for the highest number of fouls received by a Real Madrid player in almost a decade.

"Everything that happens and has happened is not Vinicius' fault. He wants to play soccer and there is an environment of rivals who provoke him and foul him," Ancelotti said.

Nacho Fernandez, who scored an own goal during the game, also commented on the treatment of Vinicius, labelling it as "nonsense."

"I think an atmosphere is being created with the issue of Vinicius that does not favour anyone, neither Vinicius nor anyone else. The public is getting involved with the boy. We have to leave controversy and nonsense aside," Nacho said.