(Reuters) – LaLiga on Tuesday said it has filed charges relating to the racist abuse of Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr to the “relevant judicial, administrative and sporting bodies”, adding that it will step up efforts to identify such abuse in the future.
Vinicius appeared to be subjected to abuse at the Jose Zorrilla stadium in Valladolid as he walked past fans after being substituted in Real Madrid’s 2-0 win over Real Valladolid last week.
After videos on social media showed fans shouting abuse and throwing objects at him, Vinicius accused LaLiga of continuing to do nothing about racist fans at matches.
“A criminal charge for hate crimes has been filed with the Valladolid Magistrates’ Courts, supported by audiovisual evidence gathered in the investigation carried out through images and audio clips published on open sources,” LaLiga said in a statement.
“LaLiga has also asked the Valladolid Magistrates’ Courts to transfer the complaint to the Public Prosecutor’s Office for Hate Crimes so that it can participate in the case.”
In the statement, the league said it would increase efforts to “eradicate any kind of violence, racism or xenophobia inside and outside stadiums”.
“The number of LaLiga integrity officers present at matches where there is a risk of racist insults will be increased, in order to maximise detection and identification of this type of behaviour, which has no place in sport,” LaLiga said.
“Furthermore, in stadiums where there is considered to be a risk of possible racist behaviour in the stands, messages will be broadcast over the public address system and advertising hoardings surrounding the pitch to combat and condemn racism.”
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
