Vinicius Jr and Valencia just aren’t a good mix.
The Real Madrid megastar was back at Mestalla where he was the victim of alleged racist abuse in 2023 which later saw three Valencia fans given prison sentences.
This time things were expected to be calmer with Madrid competing for the title and Valencia in disarray at the bottom of the table, yet it was more chaotic than ever.
The hosts took the lead through Hugo Duro in the 27th minute and were on course for victory when Jude Bellingham missed a 55th-minute penalty.
They went on to complete an impressive comeback through Bellingham and Luka Modric, yet it was what happened in between that would take the headlines.
In the 77th minute, Vinicius was standing up in Valencia’s box behind goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski when the keeper looked down and said something to him.
The Brazilian then stood up and shoved the shot-stopper, with referee Cesar Soto Grade then called over to his VAR monitor to review the incident and hand out a red card.
Vinicius then completely lost his cool, and had to be held back by Antonio Rudiger and Dani Ceballos as he ran at the official.
Vinicius has only once been sent off in his career, against Valencia, yet it was later rescinded.
Later taking to social media, he wrote: “I’m sorry, thank you team.”
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