Real Madrid on Sunday condemned the racist behavior of several of its supporters, filmed insulting FC Barcelona players Lamine Yamal and Alejandro Baldé during Saturday’s Clasico at the Santiago Bernabeu won by the Catalan club 4-0.
“Real Madrid strongly condemns any type of racist, xenophobic or violent behavior in football and sport, and deeply regrets the insults uttered last night by some supporters in one of the corners of the stadium,” writes the Spanish club in a press release , after the circulation on social networks of videos where we can hear Real supporters uttering racist insults towards the two Spanish internationals who celebrated the third goal, scored by Yamal.
“Deplorable and despicable”
The reigning Spanish champion assures that he has “opened an investigation in order to locate and identify the perpetrators of these deplorable and despicable insults, in order to take the appropriate disciplinary and legal measures”.
Despite the measures taken by La Liga and increasingly severe sanctions from clubs and authorities, Spanish football still cannot get rid of racism in its stadiums. Having become a figure in the fight against racism, Real Madrid striker Vinicius Junior has been the most frequent target since his arrival in Spain in 2018, but only some of these incidents have resulted in sanctions.
This Thursday, four people involved in a campaign targeting the Brazilian international before the Madrid derby between Real and Atlético on September 29 were arrested for inciting hatred, after calling on Colchoneros supporters to come to the match with masks to be able to insult him without being able to be identified.
Eight months in prison for Valencia supporters
In June 2023, four ultra Atlético supporters, accused of hanging a mannequin bearing the likeness of Vinicius Junior from a bridge in the Spanish capital, were banned from stadiums for two years by the Spanish authorities. The criminal proceedings opened against them are still ongoing.
On September 26, a supporter of the Spanish club Mallorca was sentenced to 12 months in prison and three years banned from stadiums for racist insults targeting the Real Madrid star as well as ex-Villarreal player Samuel Chukwueze. This was the third criminal conviction handed down in recent months for racist insults against Real Madrid players, including “Vini”.
On June 10, three Valencia supporters were notably sentenced to eight months in prison for having uttered racist insults in their club’s stadium in May 2023, already targeting the Brazilian striker.
Other complaints
This Sunday, the Spanish Football League, which also condemns the “racist insults and gestures” received by Catalan players, affirms that it will file a complaint and repeats its commitment to “eradicate all racist and hateful behavior in and outside the stadiums “.
The Spanish Sports Council (CSD) said its Commission against violence, racism, xenophobia and intolerance in sport would meet on Monday to discuss the case. “Neither racism, nor insults, nor violence have any place in our country’s sport,” Pilar Alegria, Spain’s minister of education, professional development and sports, wrote on X.
Elma Saiz, Spanish Minister of Inclusion and Migration, also supported Yamal: “We will not allow attacks that we do not tolerate in other spaces to become normal in sport,” he said. -she declared, also on the social network.
The Spanish Football Federation also condemned these behaviors and explains “working for zero tolerance towards this social scourge” and “putting an end to violence and insults in sporting venues and events”.
