Three soccer fans sentenced to prison for racist abuse of Brazilian star Vinícius Jr.

A Spanish court sentenced three men to prison eight months in prison on Monday for attacking Brazilian superstar Vinícius Júnior with racist slurs during his Real Madrid team’s match in Valencia last May.

In a press release, the famous national soccer league, generally known as La Liga, he said that punishment means first conviction for racism-related cases in skilled football in Spain.

Last May, fans loudly chanted mono – “monkey” in Spanish – and made monkey gestures, leading to public outrage and widespread international support for Vinícius. Soccer star he said later that similar incidents have occurred on quite a few occasions and that although he sees Spain as an attractive country, “racism is normal in La Liga.”

After the news of the unprecedented punishment was announced, Vinícius responded on X (formerly Twitter). He he said he was warned that efforts to combat racism were in vain. But he added: “I am not a victim of racism. I am a tormentor of racists.” The historic belief applies to all Black people, not only him, the athlete also said.

The league said the case serves as a warning to others who may go to the stadium to hurl insults. “This verdict is great news for the fight against racism in Spain because it repairs the damage suffered by Vinícius Jr.” – said La Liga president Javier Tebas.

In addition to their prison sentences, the three perpetrators – described in Real Madrid’s statement as young men – are also banned from attending matches for two years.

The men “were found guilty of a crime committed in violation of the moral integrity of Vinícius Júnior, which was aggravated for racist reasons,” Real Madrid said, adding that the club helped pursue the case.

Three men sentenced on Monday had their sentences reduced from a yr in prison and a three-year ban due to their cooperation with the investigation. According to Real Madrid, additionally they read a letter of apology to Vinícius and “to all others who felt offended and humiliated by their behavior” in court.

Vinicius announced in December last yr that it’s taking over a brand new role, working with the United Nations on human rights. “For me, this particular year was a stark reminder that we still have a long way to go to eliminate bigotry from sports and society,” he said.

The court’s ruling follows a crackdown on disparaging and offensive chants from top leagues in Spain, England and France. In some cases, the implications of the penalty include fines (especially against players or teams) and the closure of entire areas of the stadium stands.