Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has commended his captain, Vinicius Jr, for taking decisive action in response to offensive chants directed at teammate Raul Asencio during their 1-0 victory over Real Sociedad in the Copa del Rey semi-final first leg on Wednesday.
The match was momentarily halted just before halftime when sections of the home crowd targeted Asencio with chants of “Asencio, die!”
The 21-year-old defender, visibly affected by the incident, was substituted at halftime.
Ancelotti later confirmed the decision was made because the player was “wound up” and already on a yellow card.
Vinicius Jr, who is recently said to have Cameroonian roots, alerted referee Jose Maria Sanchez about the abuse, prompting the activation of Spain’s ‘anti-hate protocol.’
A stadium announcement condemning racist, xenophobic, and intolerant chants was broadcast over the public address system, though it was met with whistles from some sections of the crowd, who also directed abuse at Vinicius himself.
“He did the right thing. Vini Jr spoke to the referee and he stopped the game. He applied the protocol and did a good job,” said Ancelotti.
“I brought Asencio off at half-time because he was a bit wound up and had a yellow card.
“It’s not very nice for anyone to have an entire stadium chanting ‘die’ at you, so that had an effect on him. I opted to bring him off because his feelings may have got to him during the game.”
Los Blancos hold a 1-0 aggregate lead heading into the second leg on April 1 at the Santiago Bernabeu, as they seek their 21st Copa del Rey title.
