LaLiga Investigating Alleged Racist Abuse Towards Vinícius Jr. at Valencia's Mestalla Stadium
LaLiga is currently investigating the alleged racist abuse incident directed at Real Madrid's Vinícius Jr. during the match at Valencia's Mestalla Stadium. Spain's top football league is actively looking into the matter, emphasizing the importance of addressing such behavior in the sport.
LaLiga in Spain is currently investigating the recent incident of alleged racist abuse towards Real Madrid's Vinícius Jr. at Valencia's Mestalla Stadium on Saturday. The league is carefully examining all the details surrounding the situation.
A video, which was obtained by ESPN and has since been widely shared online, captured a child yelling "monkey" in Spanish towards the Brazilian forward. Anna Anjos, who filmed the video, spoke to ESPN about the incident following the match.
Vinícius scored twice in the 2-2 draw at Valencia.
Vinicius Jr. was targeted by racist abuse during matches last season while playing for Real Madrid.
Vinicius Jr. was targeted by racist abuse during matches last season while playing for Real Madrid.
Diego Souto/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images
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LaLiga is unable to directly punish clubs or fans. Instead, they must report incidents to the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) committees or regional prosecutors, who will handle them as legal cases before any sporting punishments are given out.
However, LaLiga mentioned to CNN Sport on Monday that they are currently examining the situation and looking at the details from a legal standpoint to figure out the appropriate actions, especially because the incident involves a minor.
In Spain, the law prohibits the publication or sharing of videos featuring children under 14 years old without the permission of their parents. This law is known as the Protection of Personal Data law of 2018.
The age of the child in the blurry video remains unknown.
It is not clear if there is currently a criminal investigation underway regarding the incident. CNN has contacted Valencia's local prosecutor for a statement.
After the game, Anjos spoke to ESPN and mentioned that she heard fans repeatedly calling Vinícius a derogatory term "mono" (meaning monkey in Spanish). She expressed feeling extremely threatened and powerless in that situation.
Anjos shared that from the moment he arrived at the stadium, he heard people constantly racially insulting Vini during the game.
After the game, Anjos revealed that he cried a lot because he felt powerless, although it may not have been visible on his face.
Vinícius Jr. celebrates a goal against Valencia.
Vinícius Jr. celebrates a goal against Valencia.
Vinícius has faced racist abuse from the crowd during LaLiga matches in the last two seasons. In a league game at Valencia last season, he was again targeted with racist insults.
In late May 2023, Spanish police announced that seven individuals had been arrested in connection to racist incidents involving Vinícius. Four young men were detained for reportedly hanging an effigy of Vinícius off a bridge in Madrid in January. Additionally, three others were taken into custody for their alleged involvement in directing racist insults towards the Brazilian on May 21 of that year.
leah abucayan/getty
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After the game on Saturday, Vinícius shared a photo of himself on social media, raising his fist with the caption "A luta continua," which translates to "the struggle continues" in English.
CNN has contacted RFEF, Real Madrid, and Valencia for their response.
Following the match, there was another incident involving Peter Federico, a Real Madrid player currently on loan to Valencia. Reports from Spanish media state that he had to turn off the comments on his Instagram account because he was receiving a lot of racist and abusive messages.
Federico played in the 73rd minute and had opportunities to score against his parent club. He also tried to excite the Mestalla crowd on Saturday. Many abusive messages were directed towards him on his Instagram as a result of these actions.
Valencia denounced the abusive messages on social media, stating, "Valencia remains committed to fighting against discrimination in all forms. The hateful comments directed at our player Peter Federico are completely unacceptable. We strive for a football and society that are free from discrimination and violence. Zero tolerance for discrimination."
LaLiga spoke out against the hateful messages Federico received in a statement released on Monday.
The Spanish league stated, "In sports, there is no room for hate. LaLiga condemns the discriminatory remarks aimed at Peter Federico and stands in solidarity with Valencia. We will continue to work together to eliminate these negative behaviors from our football community."
