On Tuesday, Spanish police detained four men in connection with an incident in January in which an effigy of Brazilian soccer star Vinicius Jr was hung from a bridge, a day after a senior official said Spanish football had a racism problem.
A hate crime investigation was launched after an effigy wearing winger Vinicius Jr.’s No. 20 shirt was hung from a bridge in front of Real Madrid’s training ground, along with a 16-meter red and white banner, the colors of rival team Atletico Madrid, reading “Madrid hates Real.”
Following a race-crime complaint filed by Real Madrid, football federation chief Luis Rubiales stated that Spanish soccer has a racism problem.
Following racial slurs directed at the Real Madrid player during a Spanish league match on Sunday, Vinicius Jr. called the racist abuse “inhuman” and asked sponsors and broadcasters to hold LaLiga accountable in a social media post.
The four men are suspected of committing a hate crime, and three of them are active members of “a radical group of Madrid club fans,” according to police. They said the three members were previously identified during matches and classified as “high risk” to aid in the prevention of violence in sports.
After the Brazilian president, FIFA, and sporting stars such as France forward Kylian Mbappe, Rio Ferdinand, and Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton expressed support for Vinicius, the country’s top football league, LaLiga, is under pressure to do more to combat racism.
The effigy incident occurred before Real Madrid’s quarter-final Copa del Rey match against Atletico Madrid in late January.
