Seven individuals have faced consequences for engaging in racist behavior towards Vinicius Jr., the Brazilian forward for Real Madrid.
In January, four men received fines of 60,001 euros and were prohibited from entering stadiums for two years. This punishment was imposed because they had hung an effigy of Vinicius near Real Madrid’s training ground. The four men were arrested and subsequently released on bail by a Madrid court 11 days ago.
Furthermore, three other individuals, aged between 18 and 21, were fined 5,000 euros and handed a one-year ban for making racist gestures during a match between Real Madrid and Valencia on May 21. They were apprehended two days after the game.
These sanctions were imposed by Spain’s State Commission against Violence, Racism, Xenophobia, and Intolerance in Sport, as announced by the country’s Sports Commission on Monday.
Following the incident, Vinicius had his red card for violent conduct in the Valencia match rescinded and later criticized the Spanish league, stating that it was “inhabited by racists.”
La Liga president Javier Tebas faced widespread condemnation for his handling of the incident after advising Vinicius on social media to “inform himself properly.” However, Tebas later apologized to Vinicius, clarifying that he did not intend to “attack” the 22-year-old.
The Brazilian government called for severe penalties against those responsible for the racial slurs, and La Liga expressed its intention to seek “more sanctioning powers” to effectively punish such incidents.
As part of an anti-racism campaign, Brazil is scheduled to play friendly matches against Guinea and Senegal in Lisbon on June 17 and 20.
