LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- Four persons have reportedly been arrested in Spain for hanging a Vinicius Junior effigy from a bridge in less than 24 hours after Real Madrid filed a hate crime complaint for racism during a match at Mestalla.
As a result of the abuse he received on Sunday, the 22-year-old winger asserted that “racism is normal” in La Liga and said the league “belongs to racists.”
In addition, he stated that given the persecution he has continually endured, Brazil considers Spain a “country of racists.“
READ ALSO: Racism Hit La Liga Contest As Vinicius Junior Loses Cool
A number of Vinicius effigies were hanging from a bridge in January alongside a placard that said, “Madrid hates Real.”
Despite considerable outrage at the time and a plea from Real Madrid for the offenders to face justice, no arrests have been made as of yet.
Meanwhile, despite the Brazilian alerting authorities to what was being screamed from the stands at Valencia at the time, the abuse of Vinicius persisted.
At one point, the game was stopped, enraging the audience even more. In stoppage time, Vinicius was sent off after a Valencia player grabbed him by the throat, which caused him to lose control of his temper.
Vinicius was not pleased with La Liga president Javier Tebas’s response, which criticized the player rather than denouncing the Nazis.
READ ALSO: Racism: Vinicius Junior Receives Startling Message From La Liga President
Though Gianni Infantino vowed the entire support of FIFA, and Valencia promised to take the harshest possible action against the offenders.
Real has issued a statement in which they make it plain that they believe the events at the Mestalla were acts of hate crime and express their “strongest revulsion” for them.
They also describe the tragedy as “a direct attack on the coexistence model of our social and democratic state of law.“
The statement reads, “Real Madrid considers that such attacks also constitute a hate crime, for which reason it has filed the corresponding complaint with the State Attorney General’s Office, specifically with the Prosecutor’s Office against hate crimes and discrimination, so that the facts can be investigated and clear responsibilities.
“Article 124 of the Spanish Constitution establishes the functions of the Public Prosecutor’s Office to promote the action of justice in defence of legality and the rights of citizens and the public interest.
“For this reason, and given the seriousness of the events that occurred, Real Madrid has turned to the State Attorney General’s Office, without prejudice to its appearance as a private prosecution in the proceedings that are being initiated.”
Vinicius does not intend to leave Real Madrid in the near future, despite the persistent issues with racism.
