Liga: at the end, Real has Rayo thanks to Benzema and Rodrygo

From the United States to Spain via the UN, marks of support are flowing in favor of Vinicius, the target of racist insults on Sunday in Valencia and injured this Wednesday for the match of Real Madrid, winner of Rayo Vallecano 2- 1 thanks to a goal from Rodrygo celebrated with a raised fist like Black Power. “We are all Vinicius, that's enough”: like the banner unfurled in the south corner of the Santiago-Bernabéu stadium on Wednesday evening, Real players advocated union, posing with their backs to photographers, online, wearing all a jersey flocked with the name and number 20 of Vinicius.

Before kick-off, players from both teams posed behind a 'Racists, out of football' poster, the product of the latest collaboration between La Liga, the Spanish FA (RFEF) and Spain's Higher Sports Council ( equivalent of the State Secretariat for Sports in France) in the fight against racism.

The Brazilian, injured in a knee but present in civilian clothes, applauded in exchange, visibly moved by this gesture, before going to sit in the presidential gallery next to Florentino Pérez, the powerful president of the Madrid club. At the very end of the match (89th), his compatriot Rodrygo offered victory to the Merengues, and celebrated his goal with his fist raised and his head down, like the American sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, a gesture that has since become a symbol of the fight against racism.

On Tuesday, two days after the incidents that took place on Sunday at the Mestalla stadium in Valencia, the Spanish authorities made seven arrests between Valencia and Madrid, as part of various investigations for racist insults against Vinicius. The Spanish Football Disciplinary Committee has decided to sanction Valencia CF with a partial closure of its Mestalla stadium for five matches and a fine of 45,000 euros, and canceled the sanction of the Brazilian, who had received a red card Sunday. Finally, several referees were laid off.

But despite these immediate effects, the "horrible" episode experienced by the Brazilian international winger continues to move people around the world. “We call on all these sporting events everywhere to counter, combat and prevent racism,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said on Wednesday, saying that these new incidents marked “a reminder of the prevalence of racism in sport". “I saw the chants directed at Vinicius. They were absolutely horrible,” US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller reacted in Washington on Wednesday.

Even Javier Tebas, the sulphurous president of La Liga, who had initially defended his organization pointed out by “Vini”, before showing his support for the Brazilian, finally apologized on Wednesday. “A large part of the people, especially in Brazil, did not understand my message. I didn't mean to attack Vinicius, but if most people understood it that way, I have to apologize. I expressed myself badly, at the wrong time,” admitted Tebas on ESPN.

Anecdotal next to this social fight, and devoid of any sporting stake, the meeting counting for the 36th day of La Liga resulted in a narrow success for Real. At the half-hour mark, Karim Benzema played a free kick quickly with Fede Valverde, and after a one-two with the Uruguayan, the Ballon d'Or 2022 hooked the Rayo goalkeeper to open the scoring (31st) . Benzema limped off to celebrate his goal and appeared to be hurt in the action, but eventually continued playing without issue.

Thanks to this success, Real is temporarily back in second place, two points ahead of Atlético Madrid, who travel to Espanyol Barcelona in the evening (10:00 p.m.). In the other matches of the day in Spain, Elche and Sevilla FC remained back to back (1-1), and Villarreal dominated Cadiz 2-0, somewhat prolonging the suspense concerning the last ticket for the Champions League. The "Yellow Submarine", 5th, is five points behind Real Sociedad (4th), winner of Almeria 1-0 on Tuesday.