LaLiga will file a legal complaint to a Spanish court regarding the alleged racist chanting directed towards Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior by a group of Atlético Madrid supporters on Thursday.
Chants of “Vinícius you are a monkey” were heard as fans entered Atlético’s Metropolitano stadium on Thursday evening ahead of the Copa del Rey round-of-16 derby that Atlético won 4-2.
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LaLiga confirmed to ESPN on Friday that it will report the case to prosecutors.
ESPN contacted the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) which said it is the country’s anti-violence commission that must act in cases like this. Neither club nor Vinícius commented on the latest racist episode.
Earlier this month, the Spanish FA announced it would host Brazil at Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu stadium in an international friendly on March 26 to raise awareness about racism following repeated racist abuse of Vinícius by opposing fans in Spain.
Vinícius has repeatedly been subjected to racist abuse since moving to Spain five years ago.
A match at the Mestalla between Real Madrid and Valencia last season was stopped during the second half after the Brazil international identified a fan in the crowd behind the Valencia goal as having racially abused him.
On social media after that game, Vinícius said that “racism is normal in LaLiga” and claimed that “in Brazil, Spain is known as a country of racists.”
In May 2023, four people were arrested in connection to the hanging of a mannequin wearing a Vinicius shirt from a bridge near Real Madrid’s training ground in January ahead of last year’s Copa del Rey game against Atlético.
Brazil’s Football Confederation (CBF) and the country’s government urged Spanish authorities to act on racist attacks on Vinícius.
LaLiga has filed complaints to authorities for racist insults or chants against Vinícius, with some of them being shelved by prosecutors.
In October, La Liga unveiled a system to monitor hate on social media as part of their fight against racism.
