Spain arrests seven people for racism in Vinicius
Spanish police arrested seven people on Tuesday for two incidents of racism against Real Madrid's Brazil star Vinicius Junior, including one over theweekend that sparked international outrage.
Spain's top league, LaLiga, has been embroiled in a racism scare after the 22-year-old striker made a racist slur in Sunday's 1-0 win over Valencia and was sent off. The player has been mocked by opposition fans since he joined Real in 2018, but the latest incident has sparked a storm as Spain is making stridesto eradicate racism from football.
Early Tuesday morning, police confirmed the arrest of three children in Valencia for "insultsand racial abuse" against the player, which was a "hate crime" during Sunday's game. The match continued for several minutes and the referee wrote in his diary after the match that Vinicius shouted "monkey".
Police said the investigation is still open to identify othersuspects. In a statement, Valencia confirmed that three supporters were arrested, reiterating "firm determinationagainst racism and violence"and saying that the company is taking action against those involved in banning them in our stadium for life. \.
Also on Tuesday, Madrid police arrested four more men suspected of hanging Real Madrid shirts with Vinicius'number on them from a hangerin January. The model was hanged from a road bridge near Real Madrid's training ground on January 26 before their match against Atletico Madrid.
Above is the red and white Atletico banner: "Madrid hates Real Madrid." - 'Do something strong' -
Government spokeswoman Isabel Rodriquez welcomed the arrests, saying they showed theSpanish authorities had "no tolerance" for racism in sports.
"We must say clearly that we are against racism, Spain is fighting these actions, condemning them and doingeverything to get rid of them," he added. The Brazilian government has made a protestto the Spanish ambassador that they will write a complaint to the authorities in Madrid.
Brazil "deeply regrets that no effective measures have been taken to prevent these racist movements," he said in a statement. Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti said Sunday's incident showed that Fifa's racist policies in football are outdated.
Referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea performed the anti-racism protocol whenVinicius shared with the fans, showing that the supporter he accused of abuse. But Ancelotti said that the rules should have been put in place when the team car arrived at the stadiumbecause the abuse started there'.
"Now is the time to do something serious. The company has the opportunity, especially now, to take serious action on this important topic,"he added.
"Bring More Light"
Vinicius was sent off late in Sunday's game for hitting Valencia's Hugo Duro after the referee viewed VAR footage of the clash between the two teams. Spain's refereeing committee suspended refereeIgnacio Iglesias Villanueva for Tuesday's match after he was involved in red carding Vinicius against Valencia.
During the match, Iglesias Villanueva was in charge of VAR but the video he showed the referee did not include footage of Duro grabbing the Brazilian by the neck before the incident -which would have been a red card. Vinicius has been sent offand will probably miss the next two or three games, meaning he won't play for Madrid again this season.
Spanish media reported thatIglesias Villanueva had been sacked, but the Spanish Football Association did not confirm this when asked by AFP. Anger is rising in Brazil over the incident, with the statue ofChrist the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro being extinguished for an hour in support of the player.
"Black and high," Vinicius tweeted about the shadowy image, saying he was offendedand thanked his fans for their support. "But above all, I wantto inspire and bring more light to our fight," he added.
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