OVIEDO, Spain
Prosecutors in Valencia, Spain on Monday opened an investigation into racist chants directed at Brazilian player Vinicius Junior at a football match this weekend, according to local media reports.
Prosecutors have a six-month window to determine whether the racial slurs aimed at Vinicius Junior amount to a hate crime, according to local daily Las Provincias.
During Sunday’s match, sections of the Valencia supporters were recorded chanting, “You’re a monkey, Vinicius you’re a monkey,” as the Black Real Madrid player entered the stadium and afterwards.
“It wasn’t the first time, nor the second, nor the third. Racism is normal in La Liga,” tweeted Vinicius after the match, arguing that events like this make Spain seem like a racist country.
On Monday, Real Madrid also announced that it has filed a hate crime complaint with Spanish prosecutors at a national level.
Hours later, the Valencia Football Club posted a statement “energetically condemning” the behavior and announced a lifetime ban from the stadium for anyone involved in the racist abuse.
On Sunday night, La Liga President Javier Tebas slammed Vinicius for his criticisms of La Liga and accused the player of not contributing to the fight against racism.
“Instead of denouncing racists, the La Liga president takes to social media to attack me,” Vinicius shot back on Twitter.
Sunday night saw Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva step into the fray, voicing solidarity with the Real Madrid player.
“I hope FIFA and other organizations act to prevent racism from dominating football,” Lula tweeted.
On Monday, Tebas continued to assert on Twitter that “neither Spain nor La Liga is racist” because La Liga “always identifies thugs responsible and takes complaints to the relevant bodies.”
Simultaneously, Spain’s sports racism commission announced that it was reviewing footage to identify the culprits behind the racist insults. The commission has previously issued fines up to €4,000 ($4,325) for comparable behavior.
In a parallel case, Spanish prosecutors are currently arguing for two-year prison sentences for two football hooligans from Espanyol Club, accused of racially insulting Bilbao player Inaki Williams in 2020. This trial is still ongoing.
