The ceremony regarding the FIFA awards were held this past Monday (28 October). All who was invited attended. There was one, or a group, of people who didn't bother showing. Those people were the ones associated with the Spanish football club, Real Madrid. Their no-show was done out of frustration and anger.
This anger stems from Vinicius Jr.'s failure to win the Ballon d'Or (the best men's player of the year). He was the odds on favourite to win it. Manchester City's Rodri ened up winning it. Additionally, the Real Madrid hierarchy were furious with the lack of recognition of other Real Madrid stars such as Jude Bellingham and Dani Carvajal.
It was these omissions that made the hierarchy question the criteria for selection. They said, "If the award criteria doesn't give it to Vinicius as the winner, then those same criteria should point to Carvajal as the winner. As this was not the case, it is clear that Ballon d'Or-Uefa does not respect Real Madrid. And Real Madrid does not go where it is not respected."
As per the above quote, the Spanish club were under the belief that Vinicius was the worthy winner. If he didn't win it, then Dani Carvajal should've won it. A lack of respect was also cited for the boycott.
There was a slight twist in this year's edition. The winner would be kept a secret between the organisers. The identity will only be identified when it was announced. The winner is chosen by journalists that represent the 100 nations in the FIFA rankings.
Real Madrid did win the award for the Best Men's Team of the year. Their manager, Carlo Ancelotti, won the Best Coach of the Year.
It has been suggested that Real Madrid only have themselves to blame. Ballon d'Or chief, Vincent Garcia, said, "Obviously, Vinicius surely suffered from the presence of Bellingham and Carvajal in the top five because, mathematically, that took some points away from him."
He also said, "This also sums up Real Madrid's season, which took between three and four players and the juries distributed their decisions among them, which benefited Rodri. What I can guarantee is that no one at Real Madrid or at Manchester City was aware."
"Maybe they (Madrid) had a feeling, a strong feeling. Perhaps the Clasico (Sunday’s 4-0 defeat by Barcelona) didn’t help. I don’t know. At the time that Real Madrid took its decision, I’m not sure that they knew 100 per cent that Vinicius hadn’t won the Ballon d’Or.
"I was always clear, fair, and perhaps my silence took them to the limit. But it was the same as with the others. I was very unpleasantly surprised by its absence. We were very clear with them and with all the other clubs. This year, the winner was not going to be notified. I thought everyone had agreed but at the last moment, I don't know why, they wanted to change the rule."
Garcia made a comment on Rodri winning the award, "It was close. Vinicius certainly suffered from the presence of (fellow Madrid players) (Dani) Carvajal and (Jude) Bellingham in the top five, as that lost him some votes, which may have benefited Rodri."
Another potential explanation, raised by several specialist media, was the fact that voters were asked to consider the "fair play" aspect of a player's game. This may have been detrimental to the occasionally temperamental and provocative Brazilian, while benefiting the model image of Rodri.
The Spanish media hasn't been kind towards Real Madrid's actions. A pro-Real outlet, Marca, wrote, "This masquerade is unworthy of the greatest club in the world." Marca also claimed that the club went against its own mantra of that a call on its players, "to shake hands even when you lose."
Spanish national team coach, Luis de la Fuente, said, "It's not good for football, for an entity like Real Madrid not to be present at a gala of this dimension."
Alfredo Relano, editor-in-chief of Spanish sports daily, AS, one of the 100 journalists who voted for the Ballon d'Or, lamented that, "the first Ballon d'Or for a Spanish player since 1960, which was keenly awaited, did not provoke the state of collective excitement that was expected, but rather a controversial day."
Former Real Madrid president, Ramon Calderon, said, "We are the greatest club in the world, but we have to behave properly."
UEFA, themselves, said, "If they do something like this, it says everything about them. Therefore, it doesn't deserve any further comment from us."
Arch rivals, Barcelona, couldn't resist but to take a jab at their absence. Their social media team wrote, "We are truly honoured to be here. Thank you, Ballon d'Or, for such a warm and gracious welcome."
Vinicius Jr. has responded to the news. There was no statement but rather a reaction to a social media post. Former Real Madrid and Germany international, Toni Kroos, took to Instagram to share two pictures of them - with the caption: "The best." Vinicius jumped in the comments and simply replied, "I love you Antonio!!".
I would describe Real Madrid's behaviour as childish. Just because one of your own doesn't win, it doesn't mean you have the right to sulk and moan. They should've accept the result and take it like men. Their actions are not ones that a role model should display. Their behaviour is illustrating to youngsters that it's okay to do what they did if you don't win something. It's an abysmal attitude to possess.