Four people were arrested in connection with the investigation into the hanging of a doll in the shirt of Real Madrid striker Vinicius Junior on a bridge in the Spanish capital last January, according to local police.
These arrests come two days after new racist abuses were exposed to the young striker, during a match in the local football league on the land of Valencia, and sparked condemning reactions from all over the world.
And the Spanish police said in a press statement that the four people who were arrested in the Spanish capital were accused of committing a “hate crime”, which is a criminal category that includes racist crimes in Spain.
Police added that three of them are active members of the Ultras group, who are fans of a club in the capital, Madrid. Without identifying this club.
The doll was found hanged in the Vinicius Junior shirt on January 26, the same day of the derby match in which Real Madrid beat neighbors Atletico 3-1 in the quarter-finals of the King’s Cup, under a banner reading “Madrid hates Real.”
After this incident, Real Madrid denounced the “racist, malicious and hateful act of xenophobia” against its 22-year-old striker, who has become a regular target of racist insults, saying in a press release that he hopes those responsible will be punished, so that an investigation will be announced immediately. matter.
Investigations, based in particular on testimonies, made it possible to prove that the four fans who were identified during the matches classified as high risk in the context of preventive measures for violence in sports are the “supposed perpetrators” of the hanging, according to the police.
The match between Real and Valencia had stopped for several minutes, while the referee wrote in his report after the match that the “monkey” chants were directed at Vinicius.
And the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Valencia opened an investigation on Monday into the incident, which was condemned by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, in addition to condemning reactions from all over the world.
