Real Madrid have lodged a hate crime complaint with Spanish prosecutors over racist chants hurled at Brazilian player Vinicius Jr during Sunday’s match at Valencia’s Mestalla stadium, the club said in a statement on Monday. “Real Madrid C.F. shows its strongest rejection and condemns the events that occurred yesterday against our player Vinicius Jr,” it said. The attacks, in its view, “constitute a hate crime” for which the club has filed a complaint with the State Attorney General’s Office, the club said.
Separately, the Movement Against Intolerance (MCI) and the Association of Spanish Soccer Players (AFE) said in a joint statement they had also filed a complaint with the same prosecutor’s office, citing racial slurs against the Black player.
Vinicius Jr pointed out the fans who were insulting him, leading to the match being paused for 10 minutes, and then got into an altercation with Valencia’s players which led to him being sent off in the second half. Real lost the game 1-0. The Brazil international later took to Twitter to express his frustration, saying “racism is normal in LaLiga” and describing Spain as a “racist country”.
“Full solidarity to Vinicius. There is no place for racism in football or in society and FIFA stands by all players who have found themselves in such a situation,” Infantino said in a statement.
“Events during the match between Valencia and Real Madrid show that this needs to be the case. That is why the three-step process exists in FIFA competitions and it is recommended at all levels of football.
“Firstly, you stop the match, you announce it. Secondly, the players leave the pitch and the speaker announces that if the attacks continue, the match will be suspended. The match restarts, and then, thirdly, if the attacks continue, the match will stop and the three points will go to the opponent.”
Infantino added that the steps to stop racism need to be supported through education. Vincius Jr received a wave of support after the incident, including from Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti.
LaLiga has previously lodged complaints of racist chanting or insults against Vinicius Jr, the latest of which was a claim before a court in Mallorca after fans were filmed racially abusing the forward. Spanish police are also investigating a possible hate crime against Vinicius Jr after a mannequin wearing his number 20 shirt was hung from a bridge outside Real Madrid’s training ground in January.
