La Liga confirmed to ESPN on Thursday that it will submit a report to the Spanish Attorney General’s Office about “unfortunate racist chants” issued by a group of Atletico Madrid supporters.
The Spanish League said that the chants of “Vinicius is a chimpanzee” were directed at the Real Madrid striker Vinicius Junior And they were heard in the video Traded on Social media.
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The racist abuse came from fans who gathered outside the Metropolitano Stadium before Wednesday’s Champions League match against Inter Milan.
The European Football Association, UEFA, can take action if the incident occurs in the stadium area and if it is reported.
The Spanish League said it would inform the Office of the Public Prosecutor specializing in hate crimes and discrimination even if it was not a match in its competition because the chanting occurred outside the stadium.
“La Liga is very committed to ensuring that football is a hate-free space, and will continue to uncompromisingly pursue any position on racism, homophobia, violence and hatred,” La Liga told ESPN.
Brazilian Vinicius, who has been subjected to racist abuse since coming to play in Spain five years ago, spoke about the incident. On his social media on Thursday in an appeal to UEFA.
“I hope you have already thought about their punishment. @ChampionsLeague 👍🏿 @UEFA 👍🏿 It’s a sad fact that this happens even in matches where I’m not present!” he wrote.
LaLiga has filed several complaints with the authorities due to racist insults or chants by opposition fans against Vinicius.
Three people have been accused of hurling racist abuse at the 23-year-old during Real Madrid’s league match against Valencia in May 2023, with Vinicius giving evidence via video link in the ongoing case last October.
The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) and the country’s government urged the Spanish authorities to act on the racist attacks on Vinicius.
In October, La Liga unveiled a system to monitor hate on social media as part of its fight against racism, with its president, Javier Tebas, admitting that one of its failures was “not discovering some of the racist problems plaguing Spanish football earlier.” “.
On March 26, Spain will host Brazil at Real Madrid’s Bernabeu Stadium in a friendly international match to raise awareness of racism.
