Spanish authorities have arrested seven individuals in relation to incidents of racist abuse against Real Madrid football star, Vinícius Jr. Four young men were detained on charges of hanging an effigy of Vinícius off a bridge in Madrid in January and three others were arrested on suspicion of being involved in racist insults aimed at the Brazilian during Sunday's match against Valencia. Both incidents are being investigated as hate crimes. Vinícius has suffered racial abuse from spectators at several La Liga matches over the past two seasons, with the most recent incident happening during Sunday's game against Valencia.
The Spanish police confirmed that three of the arrested are active members of a radical fan group of a football club from Madrid. The investigation conducted by the police led to the identification of the four suspects who were involved in the effigy hanging.
La Liga has released a statement calling for sanctioning powers to better fight racism in Spanish football. According to La Liga, it cannot punish clubs or fans for incidents of racist abuse and can only pass on any reports of abuse to Spanish football federation (RFEF) committees or regional prosecutors, who deal with such cases as legal proceedings before sporting punishments are handed out.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva supported Vinícius, saying that racial prejudice is gaining strength in several football stadiums in Europe. He called on FIFA, the Spanish League, and other leagues across the globe to take actual measures to combat racism and fascism in football.
Vinícius posted a video of some of the incidents of racist abuse he had suffered on Instagram, describing the 'inhumane' treatment he has been receiving this season. He also questioned why none of the racists had their names and photos displayed on websites and why sponsors don't charge La Liga. The footballer called for criminalization of such people and sporting punishments to the clubs to combat racism better.
RFEF head Luis Rubiales recognized that his country has a problem with racism, and discriminating behavior towards colleagues, education, and creeds. He urged fans not to engage in social media wars and help solve these problems. Rubiales also criticised La Liga President Javier Tebas for engaging with Vinícius on Twitter after Sunday's match and called for solidarity in combating racism and fascism both on and off the field.