Soccer-Infantino offers support to Vinicius Jr after racism row

Soccer Football - LaLiga - Valencia v Real Madrid - Mestalla, Valencia, Spain - May 21, 2023 Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior imitates the abuse directed towards him by a fan REUTERS/Pablo Morano

(Reuters) - Soccer governing body FIFA's president Gianni Infantino expressed his support for Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr after he called LaLiga and Spain "racist" after receiving racial slurs from fans in Sunday's game at Valencia's Mestalla Stadium.

Vinicius Jr pointed out the fans who were insulting him, leading to the match being paused for 10 minutes, and then got into an altercation with Valencia's players which led to him being sent off in the second half. Real lost the game 1-0.