Ancelotti: Attacks on Vinícius a problem of Spanish soccer

By TALES AZZONI
AP Sports Writer

MADRID (AP) — Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti says the hate attacks against player Vinícius Júnior are a problem of Spanish soccer and must be dealt with. The Brazilian forward who is Black has been subjected to hate attacks since he arrived in Spain in 2018. The most recent were on Sunday at a Spanish league game in Mallorca. TV images showed someone calling him a monkey and being insulted after the match when he posed for photos and signed autographs for fans. Last month, his effigy hung off a bridge in Madrid before the derby against Atletico Madrid. Ancelotti says Vinícius “is being the victim of something that I don’t understand.”