Doll with Vini Jr shirt. appears hanged before classic

A doll with the shirt of Vinícius Junior appeared hanged on a bridge in the city of Madrid early this Thursday (26), hours before the derby between Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid, for the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey, at 5 pm (Brasília time).

A banner with the phrase “Madrid hates Real” was extended on the bridge. This is a motto of Frente Atlético, one of the team’s organized supporters. The Brazilian striker has been the target of racist abuse in recent months in Spanish football.

The bridge in question is close to the Real Madrid Sports City, the club’s training centre. The image quickly went viral on social media, yielding several criticisms of the act. The Athletic Front denies that the provocation was an action by the group. In a statement, LaLiga, the entity responsible for organizing the Spanish Championship, condemned the attack and said it would investigate the case.

“We vehemently condemn acts of hatred against Vinícius Junior Intolerance and violence do not fit in football. As on previous occasions, LaLiga will initiate the investigation of the facts in search of the conviction of those responsible, requiring the most severe criminal sanctions”, he published.

This is yet another episode in which Vinicius Junior is chased by rival fans. In September, he suffered racist insults from Atlético Madrid fans before the derby between the rivals. At the time, the club’s board promised exemplary punishment to all fans identified by racist insults. Three partners were suspended and the promise was that the stricter punishment would hit more “criminals.”

On the other hand, the Spanish Public Prosecutor’s Office closed the investigation that it had opened to investigate the racist insults made to the striker. According to the Spanish newspaper Brandthe agency considered that the demonstrations lasted a few seconds and took place in the context of “maximum rivalry” along with other “derogatory” or “mocking” expressions in the derby between Real and Atlético de Madrid.

The communiqué released by the Public Prosecutor’s Office considered that the offenses cannot be attributed to a specific person. The decision is based on the analysis made by the police of the images obtained by the stadium’s security cameras. The document alleges that it was not possible to recognize any of the authors of the insults due to the large number of fans gathered.

Also in September, Pedro Bravo, president of the association of players’ entrepreneurs in Spain, said on a TV station that the Brazilian had to stop “monkeying” on the pitch.

At the end of December, Vinícius Junior was again the target of racist offenses in Spain and made a publication on Instagram to criticize LaLiga, which organizes the Spanish Championship, for not taking action in the face of episodes of the type. He criticized the league for lack of initiative in the search for offenders and was answered by the entity’s president, Javier Tebas, who asked the athlete to “be better informed” about actions to combat racism.

The attacker received the support of players and coaches of the Spanish Championship, including Carlo Ancelotti, coach of Real Madrid. After the pressure, the entity presented two complaints of racism, one of them criminal, sent to the Instructional Courts of Valladolid. The other, for racist insults, was taken to the Competitions Committee of the Spanish Football Federation and to the State Commission against Violence, Racism, Xenophobia and Intolerance in Sport.