You’ll have to pardon me for borrowing from the Declaration of Independence, but I hold these three truths to be self-evident and non-contradictory: that Vinicius deserved to be sent off at Valencia and merited the two-game ban he received (despite which, he is clear to play in the Spanish Supercopa); that Vinicius is still horribly unfairly treated, described and goaded; and that Real Madrid are partly to blame for his discipline problem, which I believe remains completely dwarfed by his thrilling, brilliant, close-to-unique talent.
Vini’s red card at Mestalla, which Madrid are appealing and which the usually spot-on Carlo Ancelotti has twice argued should only have been a booking, was only the second of his career in Los Blancos‘ first team. He’s had two in just shy of 300 club appearances, along with 180 goals or assists and 14 trophies. I wish the club I love had a player that problematic!
As a yardstick I’d like to remind you that by the same stage of his Madrid career, Sergio Ramos had been sent off 10 times! It was at that same moment (2010) that the legendary defender was promoted to the club’s captaincy structure, and en route to being sent off 26 (I repeat, twenty-six!) times, he was made team captain in 2015. For being sent off five times more than Vinicius, he was pardoned, appreciated and promoted.
When all of this was going on, there were headlines about Ramos’ temperament, of course, but in majority the tone was: “Hey [shrug] he’s a wild boy … there’s not a lot to be said or done!” or “Sergio will be Sergio!” He was never seen as a liability, a player who was out of control or an embarrassment to himself or the club.
And while Vinicius brought this current scrutiny and level of punishment upon himself with an over-the-top, hair-trigger reaction to the merest provocation from Valencia’s stand-in keeper, Stole Dimitrievski, the fact remains that Spain’s football media consistently portray the Brazilian as irreparably immature, overly sensitive and at fault because he perpetually shows his frustrations in response to opponents, rival fans and referees.
– Stream LIVE: Mallorca vs. Real Madrid, Spanish Supercopa, Thursday, 1:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2/ESPN+ (U.S.)
I think there are two key differences between Ramos’ 10 red cards for Madrid by 24 years and six months old, and Vinicius’ second expulsion as he approaches that same age.
Firstly, while Ramos was often in trouble for what he said to referees (in-match dissent or after he was already sent off) the vast majority of his disciplinary trouble stemmed from physical fouls on opponents — either deliberate, cynical hacks or badly timed challenges. Vinicius’ two reds have been for reacting to provocation of one sort or another — never for fouls.
The second difference, in my firm opinion, is that the former is a white-skinned Spaniard who won the World Cup and European Championship with the national team, and the latter is a black Brazilian. There have been numerous incidents of abuse against him, many of them investigated and punished. Again, not something Ramos had to deal with.
And this is where I have friendly advice for Real Madrid’s TV channel.
In Spain, the vitriol and criticism they use towards domestic referees has become a “cause célèbre,” though Madrid are not unique in this. Throughout my career, almost every big club, prominent manager and streetwise player has sought to influence or bully referees and their supervisors. It would be hypocritical to ignore this point.
However, it was reported after Friday’s match that when Vinicius was sent off, RMTV channel chief Jesús Alcaide said during his commentary: “it’s my personal opinion that we need to leave this league. It’s a filthy league. It’s dirty … dirty!” He’s welcome to that opinion, but for my taste, such partisan framing is likely to fuel Vinicius’ paranoia and increase the chances of him erupting angrily when provoked in matches.
Vinicius is a simply extraordinary footballer, athlete, competitor and entertainer. But he’s also a 24-year-old from a tough, relatively under-privileged background who’s now one of the most famous sportspeople on the planet; while he’s now financially comfortable, he carries huge responsibility and his maturity can struggle to keep up with the weight of expectation, demand and pressure.
I’d love it if the club’s TV channel calmed the “us vs. them” mood and stopped fanning the red-hot sense of perpetual indignation that Ancelotti is trying to diminish and is attempting to help Vinicius control.
I’d love it. But I’d love world peace, a big lottery win and for Aberdeen FC to win another couple of European trophies — none of which is happening any time soon. Sadly.
