Will we see on Sunday, at 9 p.m., at the Metropolitan stadium in Madrid, during the Atlético-Real derby, masked spectators in the stands so that, thus, “protected”, they can insult, without fear of being identified, some of the players present on the field of play? And above all Vinicius Júnior, one of Real’s stars?
At the end of the week, several Spanish newspapers, including the newspaper SportHe told how a call in this sense, spread through the keyword #MetropolitanoConMascarilla (“MetropolitanoConMascarilla”) on the social network
This initiative is not trivial. It comes when a Mallorca fan was sentenced on September 26 to twelve months in prison and a three-year ban from entering the stadium. In February 2023 he launched racist insults against Vinicius Junior, but also against former Villarreal player Samuel Chukwueze.
“ The suspended prison sentence was conditional on the participation of the accused, who apologized and expressed his regret in a letter addressed to Vinicius Júnior, in a program of equal treatment and non-discrimination. »Wrote the Madrid club in a press release. He added that a minor, who had insulted French international Aurélien Tchouaméni during the Mallorca-Real Madrid match on April 13, had also been banned from the stadium for a year and subject to financial sanctions. “He apologized and regretted his conduct, and agreed to carry out the socio-educational activities proposed by the juvenile court prosecutor.” He raised the stick.
Three criminal convictions
The judicial decision made official on September 26 brings to three the number of criminal convictions handed down in recent months for racist insults against Real Madrid players, according to the club. Only incidents in which the accused were clearly identified led to sanctions. “This is the result of the work we have done in recent years to eradicate hate from our football and we will continue to do so. There will be no racist shouts or chants in a stadium without a criminal conviction.”he congratulated himself, inJavier Tebas, president of La Liga, the body that oversees Spanish clubs and the championship.
On June 10, three Valencia fans were sentenced to eight months in prison for having used racist insults against Vinicius Júnior in May 2023, in their club’s stadium, punishable in turn with a fine of 45,000 euros. At the time of these incidents, during the 2022-2023 season, nine complaints for similar events against the Brazilian striker had been filed with the courts, and two had led to sanctions (withdrawal of a fan’s season ticket, fine for another).
“Brazilian President Lula protested against the persistence of racist prejudices.” in so many stages “. Vinicius Junior had received the support of multiple heavyweights in the sport, including that of his compatriot Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappé and his Italian coach. carlo anceloti. “ Racism is normal in La Liga, Meanwhile, the 24-year-old player had denounced it on his Instagram account. The competition considers it normal, the Federation does too and the rivals encourage it. I’m sorry. »
leave the field
The president of La Liga, on the defensive, initially tried to reduce the phenomenon to individual and specific cases. But the impressive list of affected players published by the Spanish press contradicts this.
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A poster campaign “Racists, outside of football” (“Racists, outside of football”) was then developed with the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), more concerned with solving the problem.
These awareness campaigns did not prevent other incidents. To the point that, on August 28, Vinicius Junior, during an interview with the American television network CNN, encouraged his counterparts to leave the field in case of racist shouts, indicating that the discussion on this topic was open in his own club.
In the Spanish championship the referee has the possibility of suspending a match or not. In reality, this rule is applied very rarely: in Valencia, on May 21, 2023, the referee interrupted the match for a few minutes before restarting it and excluded… Vinicius Junior, for an altercation with another player.
“ If things do not change before 2030, the location of the World Cup should be changed “, the Real Madrid player also proposed. This suggestion sparked hostile reactions in Spain, which, along with Portugal and Morocco, must organize the World Cup in six years.
Paco Roig, former president of Valencia (1994-1997), even made racist comments in an interview given on September 22 to Relevo.com, a sports magazine – “ I call Real Madrid “real immigrants” » –, accusing Vinicius of conspiring.
After the call to wear masks on Sunday night by Atlético fans, La Liga ended up reacting on Saturday. Remembering that this “ campaign constitutes a crime of incitement to hatred, clearly defined in the penal code,” the organization announced that it wanted “demand the immediate arrest of the instigators of a hate campaign that seeks to promote racist and humiliating acts”.
