Spanish justice announces the opening of an investigation after the racist insults against Vinicius Junior

The case takes a new turn. The day after the match between Valencia and Real Madrid (0-1), during which Madrid’s Vinicius Junior and his club denounced racist insults against the striker, the Valencian public prosecutor’s office opened an investigation for ” alleged hate crime” on Monday, May 22, AFP learned from judicial sources. This criminal category includes racist insults.

In front of the press, the president of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Luis Rubiales, acknowledged that Spanish football has “a problem of racism“, which, he added, “taints an entire team, all the supporters, an entire country“. A recurring evil within the Spanish championship for which the federation has requested the adoption of “stronger measures“, which could go so far as to close stands, or even stadiums in the event of a repeat offence, as well as referral to the State Commission against Violence, Xenophobia and Racism in Sport.

The Spanish government joins the dance

If Real Madrid and AFE, the main players’ union in Spain, have already announced that they have filed a complaint with the Spanish general prosecutor’s office, i.e. at the national level, the policies have also entered into controversy. In fact, the Minister of Consumption, Alberto Garzón, claimed “a firm response” against this phenomenon which “shows that racism is deeply rooted among certain specific groups of supporters (…)“.