Vinícius to miss Real Madrid’s Mestalla clash with Valencia again

Vinícius Júnior will miss Real Madrid’s match against Valencia at Mestalla for the second consecutive time because of a new suspension linked to an incident in the game against Villarreal, according to the source. His absence temporarily halts the player’s run of controversial encounters at Valencia’s stadium.

The most notable of those incidents began in May 2023, when the source reported that Vinícius was subjected to racist abuse before and during the match. The referee temporarily stopped play after tensions rose in the stands, then sent the player off following a confrontation with Valencia players. The Spanish federation later overturned the red card, having concluded that the referee had not seen the full sequence of events.

In June 2024, three fans were sentenced to eight months in prison and each was banned from stadiums for two years after being convicted of directing racist abuse at Vinícius, according to the source. Valencia had said it identified the fans and removed them from the stands.

Vinícius returned to Mestalla in March 2024 and scored both of Real Madrid’s goals in a 2-2 draw. He was sent off again during the team’s visit in January 2025 after clashing with Valencia goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski. The source says he missed the teams’ next meeting in February 2026 because of an accumulation of yellow cards, and will miss the upcoming match because of the new suspension.