Mallorca fan sentenced after racist abuse of Vinicius, Chukwueze

A Mallorca fan who racially abused Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior and former Villarreal player Samuel Chukwueze was sentenced to one year in prison and handed a three-year stadium ban on Thursday.

The supporter was “found guilty of two crimes against moral integrity, aggravated by the fact that he acted with racist motives,” Real Madrid said in a statement.

Vinicius Junior

The abuse directed at Vinicius occurred during Madrid’s 1-0 La Liga defeat to Mallorca at their Son Moix stadium in February 2023, before the fan insulted Chukwueze, now at AC Milan, a fortnight later.

Madrid noted that the prison sentence was suspended “after the defendant apologised, expressed remorse in a letter addressed to Vinicius, and completed an equality and anti-discrimination programme.”

This is the third criminal conviction handed down in recent months for racist insults towards Real Madrid players, particularly Vinicius, who has been subjected to numerous instances of abuse in stadiums across Spain since arriving in 2018.

In June, three Valencia fans were sentenced to eight months in prison for directing racist insults at the Brazilian striker at their club’s stadium in May 2023.

These incidents, which sparked a wave of international outrage, have ignited debate in Spain, where cases of racism in football stadiums have been prevalent for decades.

Madrid also mentioned that another supporter of Mallorca, a minor who racially abused midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni, had been banned from stadiums for one year.

“(He has) apologised and shown remorse for his actions, and has agreed to complete socio-educational activities under the jurisdiction of minors, as proposed by prosecutors,” Madrid added.

Earlier in September, Vinicius called for Spain to be stripped of its 2030 World Cup hosting rights unless progress is made in tackling racism in stadiums.

On Sunday, Real Madrid will visit Atletico Madrid for a derby clash at the Metropolitano stadium, where Vinicius has previously been the victim of racial abuse on several occasions.

AFP