An Atlético de Madrid supporter was arrested in the investigation into racist insults uttered in September against a little girl who wore a jersey of Real Madrid striker Vinicius Junior, Spanish police announced on Thursday.
This supporter is accused of having “attacked” this little girl “who was on the arm of a member of her family”, by uttering “racist insults and death threats”, because she was wearing “a jersey with name of the Brazilian player,” police said in a statement.
This man, implicated “as the alleged perpetrator of a hate crime”, even “hit twice” the arm of the person who was holding the little girl, before other fans intervened and prevent him from continuing his aggression, the press release added.
The events took place on September 24, before the Madrid derby between Atlético and Real, while this eight-year-old black girl was with her aunt near Atlético's Metropolitano stadium.
The little girl invited by Real Madrid
In an interview with Cadena Ser radio, the aunt claimed to have been attacked with her niece by ultra supporters of the Frente Atlético group, because the girl was wearing a Vinicius Jr jersey. After the attack, Real Madrid had invited the little girl to her Santiago Bernabeu stadium to give her a jersey in the presence of players such as Rodrygo, Militao, Vinicius Jr, and club president Florentino Perez.
Regular target of racist acts and figure in the fight against racism in Spanish football, the Brazilian has been targeted several times in recent years by insults, notably in Valencia on May 28, which caused a wave of indignation international.
In June, four ultra Atlético supporters, accused of hanging a mannequin bearing the likeness of Vinicius Jr from a bridge in the Spanish capital at the end of January, were banned from stadiums for two years.