Three Valencia football fans have been sentenced to eight months in prison for hate crimes against Real Madrid player Vinicius Jr, the first conviction for racist insults in a soccer stadium in Spain.
During the hearing, the defendants read a letter of apology to Vinicius Jnr. After the verdict, LaLiga president Javier Tebas said,
“This ruling is great news for the fight against racism in Spain as it repairs the damage suffered by Vinicius Jr and sends a clear message to those people who go to a football stadium to insult that LaLiga will identify them, report them and there will be criminal consequences for them”.
The three supporters were also banned from entering football stadiums for two years to serve as a deterrent to them and others.
The events happened at Valencia’s Mestalla stadium on May 2023 when racist slurs were hurled at Vinicius, during a league match.
This led to an outpouring of support for the Brazilian forward and galvanized a series of local and international campaigns, including the creation of a FIFA anti-racism committee made up of players.
Sixteen incidents of racist abuse against Vinicius have been reported to Spanish prosecutors by La Liga in the last two seasons.
In March, Vinicius broke down in tears at a press conference and said he was struggling to stay motivated and enjoy playing football due to the recurring abuse, urging Spanish authorities to take action.
In April, Spanish TV station Movistar Plus+ fired analyst German Burgos after Barcelona and Paris St Germain refused to give interviews to the network following a comment he made about Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal which was interpreted as racist.
In the same month, Atletico Madrid and Getafe were ordered to partially close their stands following racist and xenophobic abuse in a LaLiga game, while a third-division match between Rayo Majadahonda and Sestao River was suspended after Rayo’s Senegalese goalkeeper Cheikh Kane Sarr confronted a rival fan who he said was racially abusing him.
The 23-year-old Vinicius helped Real Madrid to win the Champions League this past season. He was named the competition’s player of the season and is one of the favorites to win the Ballon d’Or for the world’s best player in October.
