After Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior was subjected to deplorable racist chants by Atletico Madrid fans, LaLiga has said it will file a complaint with the Spain prosecutors’ office.
The racist chants against Vini Jr. were heard before Atletico’s UEFA Champions League match against Inter Milan at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium on Wednesday (Mar 14) night.
According to LaLiga, chants of “Vinícius chimpanzee” were heard in one of the videos circulating on social media.
“LaLiga is very committed to ensuring that football is a space free of hate and will continue to relentlessly pursue any attitude of racism, homophobia, violence and hatred,” LaLiga told ESPN.
The abuses were hurled against Vini Jr. when he wasn’t even involved in the match. The repeated hostile nature of Spanish fans against the Brazilian player suggests that racism remains a deep-rooted problem in the footballing culture of the European country.
Previous history of racism against Vinicius
Notably, last year, the Real Madrid winger wrote a lengthy social media post and called out the Spanish league saying racism was “normal in La Liga”.
“It was not the first time, nor the second, nor the third. Racism is normal in La Liga. The competition considers it normal, the federation considers it normal and the rivals encourage it,” said Vinicius.
The Brazilian said punishing the racists would be the first step in “preparing for the 2030 World Cup” whilst adding that it was the 19th time that such an incident had transpired with him. He was referring to the game against Sevilla when the fans abused him for his colour.
“Sorry to seem repetitive, but this is isolated episode number 19. And counting.”
Parabéns ao Sevilla pelo rápido posicionamento e pela punição em mais um triste episódio para o futebol espanhol.
Infelizmente, tive acesso a um vídeo com outro ato racista na partida deste sábado, dessa vez praticado por uma criança. Lamento muito que não haja ninguém para… pic.twitter.com/azlZ7ccPNZ
— Vini Jr. (@vinijr) October 21, 2023
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Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva also took note of Vinicius’ allegations and joined in to express his support for the player, calling for an end to racism in the sport altogether.
However, days later, Mikel Camps, deputy spokesperson of the Barcelona board said Vinicius Junior was deserving of a slap for his on-field actions.
“It’s not racism, he deserves a slap for being a clown. What do these unnecessary and meaningless stepovers represent in the centre of the field?” said Camps in a now-deleted post on X.
La Liga has filed numerous complaints to authorities over the conduct of Spanish fans, especially against Vinicius. However, so far, not much progress has been made on the front.
(With inputs from agencies)