Three Valencia fans were today sentenced to eight months in prison after being found guilty of abusing Real Madrid striker Vinicius Jnr.
The incidents took place during a Liga match between the sides at the Mestalla on May 21, 2023.
These are the first charges issued in Spain for racism in the game of football where the three are guilty of 'a crime against moral integrity, aggravated by reasons of racism'.
They were also banned from playing football in Spain for two years.
What does Real Madrid say?
Madrid's statement read as follows: “Real Madrid CF wishes to announce that Court Directive No. player Vinicius Junior during the league match on May 21, 2023 at the Mestalla stadium between Valencia CF and Real Madrid CF.
“The three defendants were found guilty of breaching the integrity of Vinicius Junior, which was aggravated for reasons of discrimination, each of them was sentenced to eight months in prison and banned from football fields for two years.
“The three defendants have pleaded guilty and issued a letter of apology to our player Vinicius Junior, to Real Madrid CF and to everyone who felt offended and insulted by their behavior.
“Besides showing their remorse, the three defendants called for an end to all racist and intolerance contests in their letter to fans.
“The sentence is the first of its kind to be handed down by the criminal courts and tribunals.
“Together with Vinicius Junior, Real Madrid has acted as an independent prosecutor in these allegations and will continue to work to protect the values of our club and eliminate any discriminatory behavior in the world of football and sport.”
🇧🇷🤍 @vinijr X @Endrick pic.twitter.com/PxofaFcUh1
— LALIGA English (@LaLigaEN) June 10, 2024
La Liga is still frustrated by the process
La Liga president Javier Tebas added: “This decision is good news for the fight against racism in Spain, as it goes some way towards correcting Vinicius Jr's shameful mistake and sends a clear message to those who go to the football pitch. abuse.
“La Liga will identify them, report them, and then there will be criminal consequences.
“I understand that there may be frustration with the long time it takes to issue these sentences, but this shows that Spain is a country that guarantees the integrity of the court.
“We in La Liga can only respect the speed of justice, but we also want the Spanish law to change to give La Liga the power to punish that can speed up the fight against racism.”
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