Barcelona lose 1-3 to Valladolid

Madrid, May 24

Barcelona forward Raphinha took off his jersey and revealed his message of support for fellow Brazilian Vinicius Junior.

The message, which included anti-racism words in Portuguese and the phrase “we are together, Vini,” was on his undershirt and visible when Raphinha was substituted off in the second half of Barcelona’s 3-1 loss to Valladolid on Tuesday. He raised his right fist while leaving the field. It was the first matchday in the La Liga since the outpouring of support for Vinicius following the latest case of racial abuse against the Real Madrid star forward on the weekend.

Vinicius, who is Black, has been subjected to repeated racist taunts since he arrived in Spain five years ago. Since the La Liga season began in September, he has experienced racist abuse by fans of at least five rival teams, including Valencia on Sunday. Barcelona’s second consecutive defeat since clinching the title with games to spare was overshadowed by the fallout from that.

Players from Barcelona and Valladolid held a banner before the match with the words “racists out of football,” which is one of the slogans of a campaign against racism. — AP

Argentina secure knockout spot

Buenos Aires: Argentina secured their spot in the knockout stage of the Under-20 World Cup on Tuesday with a convincing 3-0 win over Guatemala. United States moved closer to the Round of 16 with a 3-0 victory over Fiji in Group B. Argentina have six points in two matches and cannot finish lower than second place in the group. The six-time champions play New Zealand on Friday. New Zealand have four points and Uzbekistan, who finish the group stage against Guatemala, have one. AP