A total of seven people have been arrested in Spain in connection with various racist hostilities against striker Vinicius Junior from Spanish record champions Real Madrid. All those arrested are charged with a hate crime, police said.
They are all young people. Investigations to identify and arrest other possible perpetrators are ongoing, it said.
According to official information, three people were taken into custody in Valencia. They are suspected of having racially insulted Vinicius Junior in the “Royal” match at FC Valencia (0-1) on Sunday. After an interrogation, they were released under conditions. The public prosecutor’s office in Valencia announced on Monday that investigations had started.
League boss Tebas rejects allegations
Four people who have now been arrested in Madrid are said to have hung a brown inflatable doll with a Vinicius shirt on a bridge in the Spanish capital in January. According to the media, those arrested are said to be fans of city rivals Atlético Madrid. At that time – shortly before a city derby – a large banner with the inscription “Madrid hates Real” was attached to the railing of the bridge.
Vinicius is repeatedly racially insulted in Spain. After the recent incident in Valencia, the 22-year-old Brazilian international accused the Spanish professional league on Twitter of considering racism as “normal”. League boss Javier Tebas rejected this accusation and said nine racist incidents had been reported to the judiciary this season. Vinicius was the victim of hostilities in eight of them.
The new incident quickly became a political issue. The hostilities against Vinicius were sharply criticized by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, among others. The government of Brazil said it was deeply regretted that no effective measures had been taken to prevent such incidents from happening again. She called on the world governing body FIFA and the league and association in Spain to take such measures.
“His love for this club is very big”
Leading conservative politicians in Spain also condemned all forms of racism, but they rejected Vinicius’ accusation that Spain is now considered a “country of racists” in Brazil, among other countries.
In Brazil, meanwhile, media commentators and politicians have called on the Brazilian federation CBF to shelve plans to host a friendly against an as yet undecided African side in Spain in June. Some called for Vinicius to leave Real Madrid and Spain. However, Real coach Carlo Ancelotti ruled out such a step on Tuesday. “His love for this club is very big,” he said.
In clear words, Ancelotti spoke out in favor of banning not only racist hostilities, but all types of insults and verbal attacks from the stadiums. It is often “unbearable”. “We are tired of being insulted every day. Behind the benches they call you a son of a bitch, your parents should die (…) This is not a war. It is sport and we have the opportunity to end it,” he said former Bayern coach quoted on Real Madrid website. It was “an important moment to take drastic measures.”