Spanish police arrest seven suspects for racist attacks against Vini Jr
Brazilian player Vinicius Jr. again he was the target of racist acts, this time during a match against Valencia on Sunday (21), valid for the 35th round of the Spanish championship.
Photo Reproduction / Spanish Police
On the morning of this Tuesday (23), Spanish police arrested seven individuals suspected of involvement in racist attacks directed at Brazilian player Vinicius Jr., from Real Madrid. Three of the suspects were arrested for uttering racist insults during a match against Valencia on Sunday (21), valid for the 35th round of the Spanish league. In addition, four other suspects related to a doll that represented the hanged attacker. Under a bridge in Madrid, which occurred in January 2023, were also arrested.
The toy
Since the month of January, police authorities have been looking for the individuals responsible for placing a black dummy hanged wearing a Real Madrid shirt with the number 20, which is worn by Vinicius Jr. This doll was hung from a bridge near the Real Madrid training ground and featured a large banner with the inscription "Madrid hates Real". The act provoked the opening of an investigation for the crime of racial injury.
The suspects
According to a statement from the Spanish police, the four individuals linked to the incident involving a doll were arrested around 7 am on Tuesday. These individuals are members of the Athletic Front, an organized supporter of Atlético de Madrid. The detainees are all Spanish nationals, aged 19, 21, 23 and 24, and all have previous police records for committing an offense of bodily harm. Some hours later, three Valencia fans were arrested, as identified by the club, as responsible for the insults directed at the Brazilian player during the match that took place on Sunday at Valencia's stadium, Mestalla.
"The police arrested three young people in Valencia for racist behavior that took place last Sunday in the game between Valencia CF and Real Madrid," reported the National Police.
The Valencia
Valencia issued a statement declaring its collaboration with law enforcement authorities to "fight racism in Mestalla" and is committed to identifying a larger number of fans involved in these racist acts.
"The club reiterates its most energetic condemnation and its emphatic position against racism and violence in all its forms and will act with the same force with all identified persons, applying its most severe measure: expelling them from the stadium for life. ", says the statement.
Still in the note, the club disputes the claim that the entire stadium has been uttering racist insults, claiming that there has been a great deal of confusion and misinformation in recent days. "We can't strike Valencianism like a racist crowd. It's not true, we ask for respect."
The Real Madrid
After the confrontation, Real Madrid coach Carlos Ancelotti, expressed his support for the Brazilian player. During a post-match press conference, Ancelotti chose not to discuss specific details of the match, opting instead to criticize "La Liga", the Spanish league that encompasses football clubs in Spain. On Monday (22), Real Madrid filed a complaint with the Attorney General of Spain, alleging the occurrence of hate crimes and denunciation directed at the Brazilian player Vinícius Jr. This Tuesday (23), the president of the club, Florentino Pérez, made a statement stating that Real Madrid will no longer tolerate racist incidents involving its players.
The world
The attacks against Vinicius Jr. generated repudiation not only in sports circles, but also in society in general. Vini received expressions of support from players, fans and clubs from different countries, authorities and entities around the world. On Monday (22), the Ministry of Racial Equality expressed its intention to send official notifications to the Spanish authorities and to La Liga, the entity responsible for the Spanish football league. The Brazilian government issued a note of energetic repudiation of the racist acts directed at the player and vehemently defended that Spanish football entities apply exemplary punishments.
