Real Madrid lodges complaint as Vinícius Jr face racism during La Liga match

The Brazillian forward was subjected to  brutal racism from fans in the stands who allegedly called him ‘monkey monkey’ in Spanish on Sunday during Real Madrid’s 1-0 defeat at Valencia.

Following the development football club Real Madrid filed a criminal complaint Monday with Spanish prosecutors over the racist abuse its Brazilian forward Vinicius Junior received during a weekend La Liga match, calling it a “hate crime”.

The 22-year-old Brazilian winger faced off with home supporters and pointed directly to one after racist insults during the second half. Notably, Vinicius has frequently been singled out for racial abuse in La Liga and the latest incident came at Valencia’s Mestalla stadium.

“Real Madrid strongly condemns the events that took place yesterday against our player Vinícius Junior,” the Spanish giants said in a statement.

The club said it belives the abuse “constitutes a hate crime” and had filed a complaint with the prosecutors’ office “in order for the facts to be investigated and for those responsible to be held accountable.”

Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said he heard monkey chants near the start of the game, while Los Blancos coach Carlo Ancelotti said there was “a racist atmosphere” at Mestalla.

Further, Referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea spoke to stadium officials, who made an announcement calling for racist insults to stop before play resumed 10 minutes later.

The referee wrote in his post-match report that a fan shouted “monkey, monkey” at the player

“It was not the first time, not the second and not the third. Racism is normal in La Liga. The competition thinks it’s normal, the (Spanish) Federation also thinks it’s normal and opponents encourage it,” Vinicius wrote on Instagram on Sunday.

“The league that once belonged to Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Cristiano (Ronaldo) and (Leo) Messi, now belongs to racists.

“I’m sorry for the Spaniards who don’t agree, but today, in Brazil, Spain is known as a country of racists. Unfortunately, for everything that happens every week, I have no way of defending it. I agree.”

La Liga said they were investigating what happened at Mestalla and will take the appropriate legal action if a hate crime is detected.

The Brazilian football federation (CBF) president Ednaldo Rodrigues also criticised the incident.

(With agency inputs)