Global Courant 2023-05-22 20:04:12
OVIEDO, Spain
Prosecutors in Valencia, Spain, on Monday launched an investigation into racist chants directed at Brazilian player Vinicius Junior at a football match this weekend, local media reported.
According to the local newspaper Las Provincias, prosecutors have a six-month window to determine whether racial slurs against Vinicius Junior constitute a hate crime.
In Sunday’s match, it was recorded that the Black Real Madrid football player entered the stadium and after that, parts of Valencia fans shouted “You are a monkey, Vinicius you are a monkey”.
“It wasn’t the first, it wasn’t the second, it wasn’t the third. Racism is normal in La Liga,” said Vinicius, and argued that such events make Spain look like a racist country.
Real Madrid on Monday also announced that it has filed a national hate crime complaint with Spanish prosecutors.
Hours later, Valencia Football Club issued a statement “energeticly condemning” the behavior, announcing that anyone involved in racial abuse would be banned from the stadium for life.
On Sunday night, La Liga President Javier Tebas criticized Vinicius for his criticism of La Liga, accusing the player of not contributing to the fight against racism.
“The La Liga president is attacking me using social media instead of blaming racists,” Vinicius said on Twitter.
On Sunday night, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva entered the fray, expressing his solidarity with the Real Madrid player.
“I hope FIFA and other organizations take action to stop racism from dominating football,” said Lula.
On Monday, Tebas continued to say on Twitter that “neither Spain nor La Liga is racist” because La Liga “always detects responsible thugs and takes complaints to the relevant bodies”.
Simultaneously, Spain’s sports racism commission announced that it was examining the footage to identify the culprits behind the racial slurs. The Commission has previously fined up to €4,000 ($4,325) for comparable behavior.
In a parallel case, Spanish prosecutors are currently discussing two years in prison for two football hooligans from the Espanyol Club who were accused of racially insulting Bilbao player Inaki Williams in 2020. This case is still ongoing.
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