A Madrid court on Thursday released four people on bail after they were arrested earlier this week on suspicion of committing a hate crime by hanging a black effigy of Brazilian football star Vinicius Junior from a bridge in the Spanish capital.
The court decided to punish the men, who are also under investigation for insulting the Real Madrid striker, by preventing them from communicating or approaching the player until further investigations are completed.
The investigation was opened after a hanged doll wearing the Vinicius No. 20 shirt was found on a bridge in front of Real Madrid’s training center before a summit match against Atletico Madrid last January.
Next to it was a large red and white banner, referring to the colors of the Atletico team, that read, “Madrid hates Real.”
The Spanish police stated that three of the detainees were members of a “fanatical association of Atletico fans” and it was considered a source of “great danger” earlier.
The court added that it prohibited the suspects from approaching Real Madrid’s training grounds.
They will not be allowed to be within 1,000 meters of the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, the home of Real Madrid, or any stadium belonging to La Liga teams during football matches.
Vinicius has been under the spotlight since last Sunday when he faced racist abuse at the Mestalla stadium during a match against Valencia, and the player complained about racism in Spain and the league while receiving great global support.
