Spanish police announced Tuesday the arrest in Valencia of three people suspected of hurling racist insults against Real Madrid striker Vinicius Junior at Mestalla, the home of Valencia CF, on Sunday.
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Police arrested three young people today in Valencia for racist behaviour that occurred on Sunday during the match between Valencia and Real Madrid," police said.
A regular target of racist attacks since his arrival in the Spanish capital in 2018, Vinicius Junior was targeted during this match counting by the 35th day of La Liga by insults and monkey cries.
These attacks, denounced by the player and by Real Madrid, pushed the prosecutor's office of Valencia (Southeast) to open an investigation for "hate crime", a criminal category including racist offenses in Spain.
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Spain's Higher Sports Council (CSD) said it was analyzing the images to identify "theperpetrators of these insults and behaviors to propose appropriate sanctions."
This new incident has provoked strong reactions in Spain, where the presence of racism in stadiums has long been denounced by players and associations who consider the problem insufficiently taken seriously.
«The league thinks it's normal»
"It wasn't the first time, not the second, not the third. Racism is normal in La Liga. The league thinks it's normal," the Brazilian striker said on his Instagram account.
Spanish football has "a problem of racism", acknowledged the president of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) Luis Rubiales, while Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called for "zero tolerance" in the face of racism.