Courtesy: X
In Spain, four suspects have been arrested by the police over allegedly putting together an online hate campaign against the Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr on Thursday, October 24. The police in Spain confirmed that the campaign was about encouraging Atletico Madrid fans to racially abuse the Brazilian, by asking them to wear black face masks to avoid being identified.
The men, who have been arrested now, were detained on October 14 and 15 before being released as investigations continue d into racial abuse towards Vinicius Jr. The police in Spain didn’t provide names of the four suspects arrested and questioned about the case, as per the report from the BBC Sport, while there was no immediate statement from any lawyers representing the men either.
The first detentions in connection with the online hate campaign against Vinicius Jr were done on September 29
According to the police in Spain, the investigation into Vinicius Jr getting racially abused continues, and they could arrest more people as the online campaign has gone viral, causing social alarm of a significant nature. Moreover, the first detentions in connection with the online hate campaign were done on September 29 before the Madrid derby at Metropolitano Stadium, with the hashtag “Metropolitano with a mask” being reportedly used for racially abusing the Brazilian footballer.
In a press conference earlier this year, Vinicius Jr broke down while talking about the racial abuse faced by him during his young footballing career. Moreover, during August of this year, at the start of the new football season, Vinicius Jr and his Real Madrid teammates spoke about leaving the pitch if encountered with any form of racism this season.
It was in June of 2024, when three Valencia fans were given an eight-month prison sentence for racially abusing Vinicius Jr last year.
