Vinicius and the 489: Real Madrid points to double standards in LaLiga

 Eight years after Vinicius – now 26 – arrived in Madrid, it appears that nothing has changed. It took just one LaLiga game for the Brazilian to feel that he is still being treated exactly as before. The latest episode came at the RCDE Stadium. Only three minutes had been played when Calatrava, with the ball nowhere near them, kicked Real Madrid’s No. 7 in the lower back.

The incident went completely unpunished.

There was no red card or even a yellow. The Espanyol player was allowed to continue without a booking, beyond the routine warning he had received for an earlier foul.

Against Los Pericos, Vini was the most-fouled player in the game, winning eight free kicks, something that has become entirely normal since he arrived in Spain eight summers ago. During his first season in white, the Brazilian split his time between Castilla and the senior team. In his second, however, he became a regular member of Zinedine Zidane’s squad. Since that 2019-20 season, no player has been fouled more often in LaLiga, with Vinicius on the receiving end 489 times. Dani Parejo is second, despite having played 43 fewer games than the winger.

Double standards

Real Madrid believe referees apply a different standard when it comes to protecting their player – and they point to the numbers to support their case. Vinicius has to be fouled 16 times before an opponent is shown a yellow card. Lamine Yamal, by contrast, needs to be fouled only three times before his marker is booked. As for red cards, the Brazilian has to endure 68 fouls for an opponent to be sent off, while the Barcelona player needs only 11. Madrid argue that the figures demonstrate a clear double standard among LaLiga referees.

In the Champions League, however, the picture is completely different. Although the Brazilian has been the competition’s most-fouled player since the 2019-20 edition, with 131 fouls against him, referees punish challenges on both players at the same rate. In Europe’s elite club competition, opponents receive a yellow card for every three fouls committed against either Vinicius or Lamine, a sharp contrast with the domestic championship.

That prompted José Mourinho to describe what he believes his player is subjected to on the field during his postgame press conference following the win over Espanyol: “From the very first minute, it is as though there is already a system: now I foul him, now you foul him, one player goes off with a yellow card and another comes on without one... We live in a society that is against bullying, but with Vini we are still in the age of bullying.”

For that reason, Real Madrid continue to denounce what they see as unfair treatment, arguing that referees’ reactions depend on whether or not Vinicius is the player involved.