The Brazilian winger was sent off after he reacted angrily following the abusive chants from fans at the Mestalla during Real Madrid’s game against Valencia in May.
Though the card was rescinded, and Valencia were fined despite initially labelling sanctions against them ‘unfair and disproportionate’, the incident brought back up the issue of racism in football.
And Vinicius, who criticised the Spanish Football Federation for their lax policing of the problem, enjoyed backing from the wider footballing community for his stance.
The Brazilian-born Costa, who recently ended a short stint with Premier League club Wolves, added his name to the list of Vinicius’ backers and revealed that he also suffered racial abuse when he first arrived in the Spanish top-flight.
Diego Costa praised the Brazilian winger for standing up to the abuse that he suffered last term.
Vinicius Jnr was angry as he pointed out that a fan in the crowd had racially abused him
Costa enjoyed three spells with Atletico Madrid, winning two La Liga titles in 2014 and 2021
