Abusers have been sentenced to eight months in prison for racism towards Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior

Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior has called out the racial abuse he received from the stands at Mestalla in May 2023 during a Liga match, and the three fans identified as responsible for making monkey noises have been punished . Each was given a sentence of eight months in a reference sentence.

The Brazilian went straight to the stands to point out the culprits, who were quickly identified by Valencia and had their limbs removed. After a long judicial process, for the first time a prison sentence was sentenced for racism after a complaint from La Liga. The RFEF, Real Madrid and Vinicius himself also joined the case.

They were responsible for a crime against moral integrity, with the aggravating factor of discrimination on racial grounds. The guilty trio could have faced 12 months in prison as a maximum, but saw four months of the sentence reduced due to cooperation. Likewise, they will face a two-year ban from football pitches instead of three years. They will also pay the legal costs, and read a statement that apologizes to the League, Vinicius and Real Madrid, which also highlighted the role of the League in the fight against racism.

Up to this point, most of the punishments inflicted for racial abuse during League matches have been met with fines and bans from the stadiums, but the increase in the frequency of abuse suffered by Vinicius and others was more evidence of the need for harsher punishments. Going forward, I hope this will mark a key point in the movement towards racism-free football.