La Liga is demanding the immediate arrest of Atlético Madrid supporters implicated in a hate campaign aimed at Real Madrid’s Vinícius Júnior ahead of Sunday’s derby at Atlético. The campaign, which surfaced on social media under the hashtag “#MetropolitanoConMascarilla” (“Metropolitano with a mask”), encourages Atlético fans to wear masks at the Metropolitano Stadium to racially abuse the Brazilian winger without being identified. Several arrests have been made in Spain since last year for racist abuse directed at the 24-year-old.
“La Liga wishes to announce that it will proceed to formally report and request the immediate arrest of the instigators behind a hate campaign seeking to promote racist and derogatory acts,” La Liga stated in a release. “The campaign constitutes the crime of incitement to hatred, as clearly defined in the Penal Code. La Liga vigorously condemns these actions that – directly or indirectly – encourage, promote and incite hatred against an individual, in this case, the player Vinícius Júnior, because of his race.
“These acts not only harm the image of the sport and our country, but also pose a direct threat to the integrity and wellbeing of all fans.” Last year, four Atlético fans were charged for hanging an effigy of Vinícius from a bridge in Madrid, and three Valencia fans were sentenced to eight months in prison in June for hate crimes against the Brazilian. Real Madrid also filed a complaint in March with the state prosecutor’s office after a social media video showed alleged racist chanting by Atlético fans before a Champions League match against Inter.
Atlético were also ordered to partially close their south stand for two matches by the Spanish Football Federation after Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams suffered racist abuse in April.
