Three young suspects were arrested on Tuesday and then released under certain conditions. They are accused of racially motivated 22-year-old Brazilian from the stands in Sunday’s match with Los Blancos against Valencia (0:1). This is a “possible hate crime,” the communiqué said. In this case, the Spanish professional league is acting as a private prosecutor.

The incidents were recorded in the match report by the referee. Valencia was fined 45,000 euros. In addition, the south stand of the Mestalla Stadium was partially closed for five games. This suspension has now been reduced to three games, as announced by the Spanish association.

Following the incident, Vinicius accused the Spanish professional league on Twitter of treating racism as “normal”. League boss Javier Tebas initially denied the allegation and stressed that there were nine racist incidents in the judiciary this season. He later apologized to Vinicius for his exasperated response, stating that his organization’s hands were tied by law. On Thursday, he said he could eradicate racism from Spanish football in six months if the league were given the right powers.
© dpa