The soccer world is reeling from the racial abuse of Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior (BRA) by a spectator in Spanish professional soccer.
Prosecutors in Valencia, Spain, are investigating the racial slurs against Vinicius as a “hate crime,” the Associated Press and the BBC reported.

Vinicius was involved in an altercation with spectators who shouted racial slurs at him during a match against Valencia at Valencia’s Mestalla stadium the previous day. The game was briefly suspended, with Valencia fans chanting “monkey” at him.

Fans shouted “monkey” at the player… The Brazilian president got involved

“Racism is an everyday occurrence in La Liga,” Vinicius wrote on social media after the game, “and the response of the La Liga secretariat shows that Spain is perceived as a racist country.”

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti also criticized the lax response of the referees, saying in a press conference that “the whole stadium was shouting racial slurs at Vinicius, calling him a monkey, but nothing happened,” and that “there is no point in talking about soccer anymore”. “If a player is racially abused during a match, the referees should stop the game immediately,” he said.

However, La Liga president Javier Tebas countered that “Vinicius was not present at the meeting to discuss how to deal with racism” and that “before criticizing La Liga, he needs to make himself known.” The player was the victim, not the crowd who chanted racist slogans.

Valencia also stated that they “do not tolerate any racism and have identified those responsible for the behavior” and will “actively cooperate with the judicial authorities”. 메이저놀이터

“It is wrong for Ancelotti to try to brand all Valencia fans who were in the stadium at the time as racists,” the club said, adding that “he should realize his mistake and apologize for his comments.”

The incident then escalated into a diplomatic conflict, with Brazil, Vinicius’ home country, also weighing in. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula Dilma Rousseff, who was attending the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Hiroshima, Japan, addressed the issue at the closing press conference the day before.

“Vinicius is Real Madrid’s best player,” Lula said, “and it is unjust that a boy who is on his way to becoming one of the best in the world should be subjected to racist insults on the pitch.”

“Racist, doesn’t speak for Spain,” says embarrassed Spanish government