Vinicius Junior, the Real Madrid player who was abused by fans in Spain’s premier league, has said that racism is “normal”.

After the halftime break, a match at Valencia’s Mestalla stadium was paused as the 22 year old pointed out to the referee the fans who were taunting.

Vinicius was visibly upset after being racially insulted from the stands on several occasions this season. His teammates and opponents tried to calm him down.

After an altercation between the Brazilian and Valencia striker Hugo Duro, the Brazilian was sent off in extra time for violent conduct – his first red card.

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Vinicius made a statement after the match on Instagram, referencing previous incidents of racism and accusing the Spanish football authorities of not doing anything.

It wasn’t the very first, second or third time. “Racism is common in La Liga,” said he.

The Federation and opponents also encourage this. I am so sorry.”

“La Liga is a racist club”

Vinicius claimed that the Spanish league once “belonged to” stars like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and others, but now “belongs” to racists.

He added: “Sorry to the Spaniards that do not agree but, today in Brazil, Spain has a bad reputation as a racist country.”

“Unfortunately, given all that happens every week, I am unable to defend myself.” “I agree.”

Carlo Ancelotti, the Madrid manager, backed his player by saying that La Liga has a “problem” with racism.

The Italian claimed that the referee was wrong to stop the game because of the “unacceptable chanting” directed at Vinicius.

He added, “It is the entire stadium who insults a player by chanting racist slurs. The match must stop.”

Lula da Silva, the Brazilian president, has condemned Vinicius’ treatment at the Mestalla on Sunday.

He called for FIFA and La Liga, at a press conference held on the sidelines the G7 Summit in Japan, to “take steps so that we don’t let racism and fascism take over” sport.

The president claimed that Vinicius was “insulted” in every stadium where he played.

Club vows investigation

La Liga released a statement stating that it has “fought against this type of behavior for years”.

Valencia posted a similar statement on its club website. It promised to investigate the incident and “take all necessary measures”.

The club added: “Valencia CF condemns any insult, attack or disqualification of any kind in football.”

The match on Sunday saw Valencia climb to 13th place in the table, while Madrid remained third. This is 14 points behind Barcelona and its arch-rivals.

Diego Lopez scored the only goal for the home team in the 33rd minutes.