Raphinha, a striker for Barcelona, removed his shirt to show his solidarity for fellow Brazilian Vincius Jnior.
When Raphinha was replaced in the second half of Barcelona's 3-1 defeat to Valladolid on Tuesday, the message, which featured anti-racism slogans in Portuguese and the phrase “we are together, Vini,” was clearly visible on his undershirt. As he left the field, he lifted his right fist.
It was the first gameday in the Spanish league after Vincius Jnior received so much support after the most recent incident of racist abuse against the star striker for Real Madrid occurred over the weekend.
Vincius, a Black man, has endured several racial slurs since moving to Spain five years ago. He has encountered racist taunts from supporters of at least five opposing clubs since the Spanish league season started in September, including Valencia Sunday.
The aftermath from it overshadowed Barcelona's second straight loss since sealing the championship with still games to go.
Before the game, players from Barcelona and Valladolid carried a banner with the statement “racists out of football,” one of the themes of a campaign against racism started by the Spanish league, Spanish federation, and the highest sports body of the government.
Throughout the game's national and international broadcast, anti-racism messages were also shown.
Valladolid's victory put them three points above the drop zone. If Getafe loses against Real Betis on Wednesday, the team owned by former Brazil player Ronaldo may go safely to the next two rounds.
Barcelona had just won the Spanish championship for the first time since 2019 when it lost at home to Real Sociedad by a score of 2-1.
With goals from Cyle Larin and Gonzalo Plata in addition to an own goal by Barcelona defender Andreas Christensen, Valladolid, who had lost five consecutive games, now leads 3-0. The league's top scorer, Robert Lewandowski, scored late for Barcelona.
“Beating Barcelona gives us a lot of confidence going forward,” remarked Plata.
We still have two finals, so perhaps we can maintain our first division status.
Closer to the Champions League is Sociedad
Real Sociedad strengthened its grip on the last Champions League position with a 1-0 victory against Almeria at home with 10 men.
Takefusa In the last seconds of the first half, Kubo scored the game-winning goal to give Sociedad their second consecutive victory and fourth in five games.
With the victory, Sociedad was able to extend its lead over fifth-place Villarreal, who will play home to relegation-threatened Cadiz on Wednesday, to eight points. If Villarreal loses against Cadiz, Sociedad will earn a spot in the Champions League.
Almeria has lost three of its past five games and is now four points above the relegation zone. In the 36th minute, it saw forward Luis Suárez dismissed with a simple red card.
Held by Celta Vigo
After a 1-1 draw with Girona, Celta Vigo increased the distance to the bottom three by five points.
Carles Pérez's goal for Celta in the 42nd minute gave them the lead. Cristhian Stuani's successful penalty shot for the visitors in the 59th minute restored parity. Stuani's initial shot was stopped by the goalie, but he succeeded on his second try.
A Celta player entered the area prior to the kick, hence the penalty was ordered to be retaken.
In its past ten games, Celta had just one victory. In three games, eighth-place Girona remains winless.
