Spanish police arrest seven following racial slurs against Madrid star Vinícius Júnior.
Written by AIGBOKHAEBHO OKHUELEIGBE on May 23, 2023
Police have detained seven men over separate alleged racist incidents against Real Madrid football player Vinícius Júnior as Spain’s main football league urged changes to Spanish law that would enable it to take steps to curb racism in stadiums.
Four men were arrested in Madrid, police said, three of whom were members of “a radical group of fans of a Madrid club”, who were previously flagged during matches as “high risk” to help curb violence during games.
Three men were also arrested in Valencia for racist conduct aimed at Vinícius in a match between Valencia and Real Madrid, police said on Twitter.
The arrests come a day after football federation chief Luis Rubiales said Spanish football has a racism problem, following a race-crime complaint lodged by Real Madrid.
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti expressed support for Vinícius Júnior, whom he expected would remain at the club.
He lambasted Spain’s “obsolete” protocols to deal with racism in the sport, and said he would consider taking his players off the pitch if they were to be abused again during a game.
A hate crime investigation was opened after an inflatable effigy dressed in the No. 20 jersey of winger Vinícius was hung from a bridge in front of the club’s training grounds.
Alongside it was a 16-metre red and white banner — the colours of rival team Atletico Madrid — that read “Madrid hates Real”.
After slurs were aimed at the Brazilian star during a Spanish league match on Sunday, Vinícius, in a social media post, called the racist abuse “inhuman” and asked sponsors and broadcasters to hold La Liga accountable.
After slurs were aimed at the Brazilian star during a Spanish league match on Sunday, Vinícius, in a social media post, called the racist abuse “inhuman” and asked sponsors and broadcasters to hold La Liga accountable.
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La Liga, which has come under pressure to do more after the Brazilian president, FIFA, and sporting stars such as France forward Kylian Mbappe, Rio Ferdinand and Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton voiced support for Vinícius, said in a statement on Tuesday that it felt “impotent” to tackle the issue while Spanish legislation limited its actions to merely detecting and reporting racist incidents.
