MADRID - Real Madrid’s Brazilian forward Vinicius Jr on Saturday accused La Liga of continuing to do nothing about racist fans at matches, after videos on social media showed fans shouting abuse and throwing objects at him at a match a day earlier.
La Liga issued a statement condemning all forms of hate speech and saying it was following up on instances of racism at the match.
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 on Friday.
“Racists continue to go to stadiums and watch the biggest club in the world up close and La Liga continues to do nothing,” Vinicius wrote on Twitter.
“I will continue with my head held high and celebrating my victories and those of Madrid.”
In September, Atletico Madrid fans were filmed directing racist chants at the 22-year-old outside their Metropolitano Stadium ahead of a match against Real.
In its statement on Saturday, the league said it was looking into Friday’s match.
“La Liga has detected racist insults from the stands of the Zorrilla stadium, published on social networks,” the Spanish top-flight league said.
“These facts will be reported to the Anti-Violence Commission and the Public Prosecutor’s Office for hate crimes, as has been done on other occasions,” it said.
The league detailed how it had addressed incidents of racist abuse towards players in the past and said it will continue to fight against “the scourge of violence, racism, xenophobia and intolerance in sport”.
Meanwhile, Barcelona’s lead over Real atop the La Liga standings evaporated on Saturday after they were held to a 1-1 home draw by local rivals Espanyol in a bad-tempered clash in which both sides were reduced to 10 men.
Real had taken top spot on Friday with the win at Valladolid, putting pressure on Barcelona to respond against an Espanyol side battling to avoid relegation.
Defender Marcos Alonso put Barcelona in front at Camp Nou, before Joselu converted a second-half penalty to level the game.
Tempers flared in the aftermath of the equaliser, with Barcelona’s Jordi Alba being sent off after receiving back-to-back yellow cards for vociferous protests against the referee.
Espanyol’s Vinicius Souza was then shown a second yellow card for a foul on Robert Lewandowski two minutes later.
Defender Leandro Cabrera was also shown a red card for kneeing Lewandowski in the back after he was brought down by Souza, but a video assistant referee review let Espanyol off the hook.
Spanish referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz, who attracted criticism earlier this month after showing 16 yellow cards in Argentina’s quarter-final win over the Netherlands at the World Cup, dished out 15 yellow cards. Coach Xavi Hernandez said the referee had lost control but added the draw was Barcelona’s fault. REUTERS
