Vinicius Jr in the 73rd minute (Photo: Mateo Villalba/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images).
Three people were found guilty of racially abusing Real Madrid forward, Vinicius Junior in May 2023 have been sentenced to jail for eight months.
The sports news media, Athletic previously reported that Spanish police had arrested three young people in connection with the alleged racist behaviour towards Vinicius Jr during Real Madrid’s La Liga fixture against Valencia.
It is the first conviction for racist insults in a football stadium in Spain. The individuals have also been banned from entering football stadiums hosting La Liga and RFEF matches for three years initially, reduced to two years for the same procedural reason, and have been ordered to cover the costs of the legal proceedings.
Vinicius Jr responded to the judgement to say that the verdict “was not for me” but “for all black people”, before thanking La Liga and Real Madrid for a “historic conviction”.
“Many people asked me to ignore it, many others said that my fight was in vain and that I should just ‘play football’,” the forward posted on social media.
“But, as I’ve always said, I’m not a victim of racism. I am a tormentor of racists. This first criminal conviction in the history of Spain is not for me. It is for all black people.
“May other racists be afraid, ashamed and hide in the shadows. Thank you to La Liga and Real Madrid for helping with this historic conviction. More will come…”
La Liga president Javier Tebas has said: “This ruling is great news for the fight against racism in Spain, as it repairs the damage suffered by Vinicius Jr.
“It sends a clear message to those people who go to a football stadium to insult that La Liga will detect them, denounce them and there will be criminal consequences for them.
“I understand that there may be some frustration because of the time it takes for these sentences to be handed down, but this shows that Spain is a country with judicial guarantees.
“In this sense, from La Liga, we can only respect the time of justice and demand once again that Spanish legislation evolves so that La Liga has sanctioning powers that can speed up the fight against racism.”
Madrid, meanwhile, added in a statement that they would “continue working to protect the values of our club and eradicate any racist behaviour in the world of football and sport”.
Vinicius Jr, 23, has often been on the receiving end of racist abuse from opposition fans both in stadiums and on social media.
In March 2024, the Brazil international said that racist abuse directed at him is getting worse because perpetrators are going unpunished, as he broke down in tears at an emotional press conference.
Speaking before a friendly between Spain and Brazil at the Santiago Bernabeu, organised “to reinforce the commitment against violence and racism in football”, he said: “Things have got worse since the first time I denounced what happened to me.
“Because people are not punished, they feel like they can keep saying things about the colour of my skin to try to affect how I play. But they could try to do that in other ways, and I wouldn’t have a problem with that.
“I just want to play, and I want to be able to go to stadiums without anyone bothering me because of the colour of my skin.”
三人因種族歧視皇馬前鋒被判處八個月監禁
三人因種族歧視皇馬前鋒維尼修斯·儒尼奧爾於2023年5月被判入獄八個月。
體育新聞媒體 Athletic 先前報導稱，西班牙警方逮捕了三名年輕人，他們涉嫌在皇馬對陣瓦倫西亞的西甲比賽中對小維尼修斯進行種族歧視行為。
這是西班牙首次在足球場內因種族主義侮辱而被定罪。 這些人也被禁止進入舉辦西甲和西班牙足協比賽的足球場，最初三年，由於同樣的程序原因減少到兩年，並被命令承擔法律訴訟費用。
小維尼修斯對判決做出回應稱，這一判決“不是為了我”，而是“為了所有黑人”，然後感謝西甲和皇家馬德里的“歷史性判決”。
這位前鋒在社交媒體上發文說：“很多人要求我忽略它，還有很多人說我的戰鬥是徒勞的，我應該‘踢足球’。”
「但是，正如我一直說的，我不是種族主義的受害者。 我是種族主義者的折磨者。 西班牙歷史上第一次的刑事定罪不適合我。 它適合所有黑人。
「願其他種族主義者感到害怕、羞愧並躲在陰影中。 感謝西甲和皇家馬德里幫助實現這一歷史性信念。 還會有更多的…”
西甲主席哈維·特巴斯表示：「這項裁決對於西班牙反對種族主義的鬥爭來說是個好消息，因為它修復了小維尼修斯所遭受的傷害。
「這向那些去足球場侮辱的人發出了一個明確的信息，西甲將發現他們，譴責他們，並將給他們帶來刑事後果。
「我理解，由於判決需要時間，可能會有些沮喪，但這表明西班牙是一個有司法保障的國家。
“從這個意義上說，從西甲來看，我們只能尊重正義的時間，再次要求西班牙立法不斷發展，讓西甲擁有製裁權力，能夠加快打擊種族主義的步伐。”
同時，馬德里在一份聲明中補充說，他們將「繼續努力保護我們俱樂部的價值觀，並消除足球和體育界的任何種族主義行為」。
23 歲的維尼修斯經常在體育場和社交媒體上遭受反對派球迷的種族主義辱罵。
2024 年 3 月，這位巴西國腳在一場情緒激動的新聞發布會上淚流滿面，表示針對他的種族主義虐待行為越來越嚴重，因為肇事者沒有受到懲罰。
在聖地亞哥伯納烏舉行的西班牙和巴西之間的友誼賽之前，他說：“自從我第一次譴責發生在我身上的事情以來，事情變得更糟了。”
「因為人們沒有受到懲罰，他們覺得他們可以繼續談論我的膚色，試圖影響我的比賽方式。 但他們可以嘗試用其他方式做到這一點，我對此沒有意見。
“我只想打球，我希望能夠去體育場，而不會有人因為我的膚色而打擾我。”
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