Vinicius Jr red card overturned as Valencia hit with stadium closure

Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr has had his red card against Valencia, when he was also racially abused, rescinded.

The Brazilian was sent off in the closing stages of Sunday’s game after clashing with Valencia players, in which he was also grabbed around the neck as no one else went punished.

The incident played out shortly after the game had been paused for more than 10 minutes as Vinicius pointed out a fan or fans who were abusing him in the Mestalla Stadium stands.

A Spanish FA statement read: “The RFEF Competition Committee considers that the referee’s assessment was determined by the omission of the entirety of the play that took place, which affected the refereeing decision.

“The fact that [the referee] was deprived of a decisive part of the facts led him to adopt an arbitrary decision. And this is because it was impossible for him to properly assess what happened.”

The governing body also confirmed that Valencia had been fined €45,000 (£39,000) and seen their stadium partially closed for five matches.

Valencia hit out at the sanctions, describing them as “disproportionate” and confirming an appeal, insisting fans not involved in the “shameful incident” were “unfairly” being affected.