Spanish police announced on Tuesday the arrest in Valencia of three people suspected of having uttered racist insults against Real Madrid striker Vinicius Junior in Mestalla, the lair of Valencia CF, this Sunday.
“The police arrested three youngsters in Valencia today for the racist behavior that took place on Sunday during the match between Valencia and Real Madrid,” the police said.
Regular target of racist attacks since his arrival in the Spanish capital in 2018, Vinicius Junior was targeted during this match counting for the 35th day of La Liga by insults and monkey cries.
These attacks, denounced by the player and by Real Madrid, prompted the prosecutor’s office in Valencia (Southeast) to open an investigation for “hate crime”, a criminal category including racist offenses in Spain.
The Spanish Superior Sports Council (CSD) said for its part that it was analyzing the images in order to identify “the authors of these insults and behavior to propose the appropriate sanctions”.
This new incident has sparked strong reactions in Spain where the presence of racism in stadiums has long been denounced by players and associations who consider the problem insufficiently taken seriously.
“It wasn’t the first time, nor the second, nor the third. Racism is normal in La Liga. The league thinks it’s normal”, regretted the Brazilian striker on his Instagram account.
Spanish football has “a problem of racism”, admitted for his part the president of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) Luis Rubiales, while the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called for “zero tolerance” in the face of racism.
