Spanish league sues over Vinicius racism

The Spanish league has filed criminal complaints against Valladolid fans who aimed racist insults against Real Madrid player Vinicius Junior.

LaLiga said it presented audiovisual evidence of the insults in filing a complaint of hate crimes to local courts on Tuesday. The league also asked the Spanish soccer federation to look into the incident and consider a possible punishment for Valladolid.

Vinícius took to social media to complain about the insults he was subjected to during Madrid’s 2-0 win at Valladolid on Friday. The Brazil international said “racists continue going to stadiums” and “the league isn’t doing anything” about it.

Madrid won the game 2-0 thanks to a Karim Benzema double, but footage emerged after the final whistle of Vinicius being racially abused as he was substituted late on, while objects were also thrown at the Brazil international from the stands.

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti said after the incident a “zero tolerance” policy needs to be taken.

But he added: “I don’t think it’s La Liga’s problem. It’s a general, cultural problem in society. Society doesn’t have the education it should have.

“With such an important issue I wouldn’t focus on Vinicius or La Liga or the punishments. It’s much bigger.”

It wasn’t the first time Vinicius has been targeted by racists while playing in Spain.

Last year, a large group of Atletico Madrid fans chanted “Vinicius, you are a monkey” outside Metropolitano Stadium before Madrid’s 2-1 win in September. Spanish state prosecutors closed a probe into that case citing a lack of sufficient evidence to identify potential perpetrators of the hate crime.

Vinicius was also targeted by a fan who racially insulted him after playing Barcelona in 2021.

– with DPA