The Madrid Prosecutor files the complaint for the racist chants to Vinicius: "They lasted a few seconds"

The Madrid Provincial Prosecutor's Office has agreed to archive the complaint filed by Esteban Ibarra as president of the Movement Against Intolerance related to the shouting and chants of a group of people directed at the Real Madrid footballer Vinicius during the derby last month of September at the Wanda Metropolitano.

They yelled at the Brazilian from Real Madrid “you are a monkey, Vinicius you are a monkey”.

Despite the fact that the Prosecutor's Office considers that the chants are "disgusting", "inappropriate" and "disrespectful", it understands that they were released during the celebration of a "maximum rivalry" soccer match along with other "derogatory" or " mocking” marked by that sporting competition.

The representative of the Public Ministry, in addition, points out that there is no specific act to impute to a specific person and that, once the racist insults are contextualized, "they would not constitute a crime against the dignity of the affected person either."

In this sense, he argues that the chants were not produced again more than twice "and that they lasted a few seconds."

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Esteban Ibarra, president of the Movement against Intolerance, Racism and Xenophobia, who filed the complaint in September, recounted in a telephone conversation with this newspaper after learning of the decision: “Someone who murders spends two hours stabbing?

Or two minutes?

This is amazing."

He insists that the substance of the matter is that the Police have not provided data and images.

And he asks the authorities to review how to guarantee the incorporation of the audio recordings of events that occur in the vicinity of the stadium so that "those responsible can be identified."

He recalls that the Law against violence, racism, xenophobia and intolerance in sport considers the surroundings of stadiums as a space for protection and security that clubs must guarantee.

Ibarra adds: “It is disturbing that they have made that decision and that it has not been sufficiently investigated.

That opens the door to impunity in this type of event on soccer fields.”

Once the complaint was received, says the Prosecutor's Office, they proceeded to officiate the Provincial Information Brigade (BPI) to proceed with its investigation and contextualization.

On the other hand, the complaint made by the Professional Football League (LFP) was incorporated, where it was reported how already inside the stadium, "before the start of the game and in the 42nd minute of it, by a group of fans located in the Lower Stand of the South Fund, from sectors called 127 to 133, proceeded to utter in unison for about 15 seconds in a coordinated manner the same chants towards the player Vinicius ”.

Ibarra's complaint then closed a week in which all levels, from sports to politics, unanimously condemned the racist shouting at Vinicius.

Those "you are a monkey, you are a monkey" were valid until the intervention of Congress - there was an institutional declaration signed by all the groups - and the President of the Government Pedro Sánchez who, in an interview with Político, said that as a follower of Atlético it was expected a forceful message from the rojiblanco club.

The League denounced 24 offensive messages in the Madrid derby, three of them racist.

And the Anti-Violence Commission (which has not yet ruled), asked the clubs to help identify those who spread racist messages in football.

The Hate Crimes Prosecutor of Barcelona acted in its day against three Espanyol fans who in January 2020 used racist insults at Iñaki Williams.

LaLiga filed a complaint, the Prosecutor's Office opened proceedings and after identifying those responsible, they appeared and opened an oral trial.

The complaint, pioneering, and the trial could be the first conviction for racist insults in football.

For that to happen with the proceedings that the Madrid Prosecutor's Office opened in its day, it was necessary first to identify those responsible.

According to the Prosecutor's Office, a police communication was received specifying that, after analyzing the images obtained by the Stadium's Organizational Control Unit, only images were collected, but not audio, "since the stadium's recording system does not record ”.

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