Atletico Madrid have condemned the racist abuse directed at Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior by supporters, promising the "immediate expulsion" of any members who were involved.
Sunday's LaLiga derby between the two capital clubs was marred by pre-match scenes of Atletico fans singing racist chants about the Brazilian forward.
The chants came less than a week after football agent Pedro Bravo urged the Real Madrid winger to "stop playing the monkey" in relation to the forward's customary dancing celebration. Bravo later apologised, insisting he did not mean to cause offence with the comments made on TV show El Chiringuito.
Vinicius vowed to continue celebrating in such a way and was met with a wave of support, including from compatriots Neymar, Pele and Gabriel Jesus, but he was still targeted by some Atletico fans ahead of Sunday's match.
Atletico have belatedly spoken out against the abuse suffered by the forward and offered their cooperation to the police.
"Our club has always been known for being an open and inclusive space for fans of different nationalities, cultures, races, and social classes, and a few cannot tarnish the image of thousands and thousands of Atleti fans who support their team with passion and respect for their opponents," the statement read.
"These chants provoke enormous repulsion and indignation. We will not allow any individual to hide behind our colours to utter insults of a racist or xenophobic nature. At Atletico Madrid, we have zero tolerance for racism, our commitment to the fight against this social scourge is total, and we will not stop until we eliminate it.
"To this end, we have contacted the authorities to offer them our full cooperation in the investigation of the events that took place outside the stadium. We ask them to identify the people who participated [and] to proceed with the immediate expulsion of those who are members of the club.
"We would also like to invite all professionals involved in the world of football to reflect deeply. Making clear once again our strongest condemnation of these events, which have no justification whatsoever, we believe that what has happened in the days leading up to the derby is unacceptable.
"Fans are asked for sanity and rationality, and during the week, professionals from different fields generated an artificial campaign, lighting the fuse of controversy without measuring the repercussions of their actions and manifestations.
"The pain felt by the red and white family for this event is enormous. We cannot allow anyone to link our fans with this behaviour and question our values because of a minority that does not represent us.
"Our decision is firm and emphatic. We will not stop until we expel those involved from the red and white family because they cannot be part of it."
Diogo Dalot: Last fortnight another normal killing machine against Man United
Diogo Dalot described the recent external scrutiny and criticism of Manchester United as a “killing machine” after Erik ten Hag’s side secured a return to winning ways at Burnley.
The Red Devils have been under the microscope off the field as well as on it at the start of the campaign, having lost four of their opening six matches in all competitions for the first time since 1986.
The heat was on as absentee-hit United headed to promoted Burnley on Saturday evening, when Bruno Fernandes’ fantastic volley on the stroke of half-time secured a much-needed 1-0 victory.
“We are playing for Man United,” right-back Dalot said. “We have to be consistent in every game because they will kill you in every direction that they can if you don’t win games.
“And you could see this last couple of weeks, it was another normal killing machine against us, but we fought hard.
“When we get into Carrington (training ground), the noise stays outside and we work hard.
“And I think we were rewarded with these three points, but we want to keep going.”
United were not entirely convincing against the winless Clarets, but it was a solid showing underpinned by clear togetherness and focus.
“I think this was massively important,” Dalot told MUTV. “Apart from the three points, I think the clean sheet brings us a little bit of extra confidence to go to the next games.
“We needed it after these last couple of games when we conceded a lot of goals and this has to build a foundation now for the next game.
“I think today we showed a proper compact team, aggressively defending the box, everybody (supporting) each other.
“Collectively we were very good. Everybody was speaking with each other, communication, aggressive on the front foot.
“And I think that brings you confidence when you look to your mate and he’s giving everything for you.
“You want to give everything for him as well. Today we came out to the pitch with that mentality.
“I think this is the standard that we need to have for the rest of the season.”
As for Burnley, their wait for a first win since returning to the Premier League continues.
Vincent Kompany’s outfit showed flashes of quality during the narrow home loss and summer signing Aaron Ramsey is keen to build on that display.
“We didn’t come out with three points, but I think that everyone can see a lot of positives that we can take from that, that we can take into the next game,” the 20-year-old said after making his Premier League start.
“Hopefully the three points come soon but in the changing room all of us are taking as many positives as we can from it – and there’s quite a few.
“It’s Manchester United and I think that we more than competed and hopefully next time we get the three points, but like I said loads and loads of positives from the game, and we can just build from that.”
Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford unhurt after car crash
Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford escaped unhurt after being involved in a car crash on Saturday night.
The PA news agency understands the crash happened after Manchester United had returned to their Carrington training base following their Premier League victory over Burnley at Turf Moor.
The players returned to the training ground by team bus to collect their own cars before setting off home.
Pictures and footage posted online in the aftermath of the incident showed the damage suffered by Rashford’s Rolls Royce.
It is understood emergency services attended the scene, but Rashford did not require medical attention and no arrests were made.
The England international, 25, played the whole game at Turf Moor as United won 1-0.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin determined to stay fit and build on Brentford strike
Dominic Calvert-Lewin is determined to stay fit after revealing his frustration at his latest injury setback.
The England striker returned from a fractured cheekbone to score Everton’s third goal in their 3-1 win at Brentford.
“It’s difficult when you keep getting sidelined and you’re doing everything to stay on the pitch, but I think everyone knows I’m doing everything I possibly can,” Calvert-Lewin told the club website.
“I’m in a good place now, feeling physically fit, strong, fast. I’m buzzing to get the goal and long may it continue.
“We knew we needed a result and most importantly a win but we have to continue the work we’ve been doing, keep the momentum and take that into next week.”
James Tarkowski had headed the Toffees back into the lead against his old club after Mathias Jensen cancelled out Abdoulaye Doucoure’s opener.
Calvert-Lewin then secured Everton’s first win of the season and condemned the Bees to a first home defeat.
“I think that Everton deserved to win,” said Bees boss Thomas Frank. “The first five games we played this season, we performed very well – this was a bad performance. We need to learn from that, move forward and bounce back.
“What this group of fantastic players have done very well over all the years I’ve been in charge here is that, after a bad performance, they’ve bounced back.
“Everything that Everton came with didn’t surprise us. We expected everything, we just handled it poorly. We just didn’t deal very well with it.
“There are two things, besides the bad performance, that we need to look into: one is defensive set-pieces, obviously we conceded two goals and we weren’t on top of them.
“Secondly, is our quality and decision-making on the ball, especially in the first half. We were throwing the ball away way, way too easy with touches, passes and decisions.”
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