Real Madrid resorted to the Spanish Public Prosecutor to investigate a hate crime, following racist insults to its Brazilian international striker Vinicius Junior, while the president of the Spanish Federation admitted, on Monday, that his country had a problem with racism.
And Vinicius Junior was subjected to abuse during the confrontation that his team lost on the land of Valencia, Sunday, in the 35th stage of the League, which generated condemning reactions from all over the world.
And the royal team wrote in a statement on its official website, Monday: Real Madrid believes that such attacks also constitute a hate crime, and therefore the appropriate report was submitted to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, specifically to the Public Prosecutor’s Office regarding hate crimes and discrimination, in order to investigate the facts and prosecute those responsible.
And he continued: Article 124 of the Spanish Constitution defines the functions of the Public Prosecutor’s Office to enhance the work of justice in defending legality, citizens’ rights and the public interest.
For his part, Federation President Luis Rubiales acknowledged in a press conference at the Federation’s headquarters near Madrid: First, we must recognize that we have a problem of behavior, education and racism in our country.
He added: As long as there is one fan or a group of fans who insult someone because of their sexual orientation and the color of their skin, we will have a serious problem which tarnishes the image of an entire team, all the fans and a country as a whole.
During the match against Valencia, Vinicius was subjected to insults of all kinds, especially racism, from a large crowd at the Mestalla stadium, and at the end saw the player sent off for striking Ugo Duro during a dispute between them.
The Movement Against Intolerance and the Spanish Footballers’ Association also announced through a press release that they had filed a complaint.
The statement read: “The two organizations are totally against the unacceptable behavior of some fans, and believe that the time has come to act categorically, in the face of such serious realities which, unfortunately, are not individual.
For his part, Xavi Hernandez, coach of arch-rivals Barcelona, said: There is no slogan, opponents or clubs. Racism must be eradicated once and for all. No shields here, it is about human beings and we condemn any act of racism.
