Prosecutors investigating racist attack on Vinicius Jr as a "hate crime"

Real Madrid has filed an official complaint to the Spanish prosecutor's office following a fan's racist attack on star forward Vinicius Jr during Sunday's LaLiga game against Valencia. Real Madrid issued a statement on Monday stating that it "considers that such attacks also constitute a hate crime". Prosecutors in Valencia have now opened a formal investigation into the matter, The Guardian has reported. 

"The championship that once belonged to Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Cristiano and Messi now belongs to the racists. I'm sorry for the Spaniards who disagree, but today in Brazil Spain is considered a country of racists." This is the fiery statement Real Madrid striker Vinicius Junior posted on social media in the wake of his side's loss to Valencia.

Vini Jr., considered one of the best players in the world, delivered the strong message against LaLiga and against those who have called him a 'monkey' at Valencia's Mestalla Stadium on Sunday.

(Photo: Twitter - @vinijr)

With four games to go, Valencia were in contention for relegation and Real Madrid for nothing more than an honorable second place in LaLiga. Nothing indicated that the game would be the most controversial of the season.

It all turned when Vini Jr. pointed out a fan in the stands who insulted him with 20 minutes left on the clock. The police had to intervene and eventually removed the fan, but insults and hostile behaviour followed after the removal of the fan, and the crowd and game descended into chaos.

Despite the fact that the remaining 20 minutes and 10 minutes of extra time were played, the mood among players and fans was different. This was also reflected in a brawl between the players just before the final whistle.

In the scuffle, Hugo Duro grabbed Vini Jr. by the neck for several seconds and pulled him toward his face as Vini Jr pulled away. The outcome? A red card for Vini Jr. while Duro went unpunished.

It gets worse for referee Burgos Bengoetxea after the final whistle, as his report of the match was not exactly representative of what happened on the field.

Basically, the referee hadn't included the racist slurs at the Mestalla Stadium in the report, so it had to be made up for. The referees' technical committee claimed it was a computer error, but Vini Jr. didn't seem too happy with that explanation.

(Photo: Instagram - @vinijr)

"In the 73rd minute, a spectator from the "Mario Kempes" south stand addressed Real Madrid CF's No. 20 player Vinicius José De Oliveira Do Nascimiento and shouted: "Monkey, monkey", which activated the racism protocol and the pitch delegate issued the appropriate warning over the loudspeaker," the amended version of the minutes stated.

As has been the case throughout the season, the debate surrounding Vini Jr. has once again come to the fore: is he a victim or an instigator?

And as is often the case, social media was awash with comments, both for and against, the Brazilian star. In fact, LaLiga president Javier Tebas has emerged as one of the biggest critics of the incident.

"We tried to explain to you what LaLiga is and what can be done about cases of racism. But you didn't show up for the two dates you yourself suggested. Before you criticize and insult LaLiga, you should do your research properly , Vinícius. Do not let yourself be manipulated and make sure you understand the work we are doing together," declared Javier Tebas.

(Photo: Twitter - @tebasjavier)

"Your ignorance puts you on a par with racists. I'm not your friend to chat about racism with. I demand action and punishment. A hashtag means nothing." replied Vini Jr.

(Photo: Twitter - @vinijr)

What became clear last Sunday is that Vini Jr. has the support of many of his teammates – not just at Real Madrid but around the world – and they didn't hesitate to show it publicly.

(Photo: Instagram - @vinijr)

Courtois, Camavinga, Fede Valverde, Benzema, Tchouameni but also Mbappe, Achraf, Neymar, Paqueta and Ronaldo have expressed their solidarity with Vinicius in the face of the insults he has been subjected to for months.

(Photo: Instagram - @k.mbappe)

Legendary Manchester United star-turned-commentator Rio Ferdinand wrote one of the most outspoken comments on social media this week.

"Brother, you need protection. Who is protecting Vini Jr.? He gets a red card after being choked and racially abused during the game. How many more times do you have to put that young man through it? I see pain, I see disgust, I see that he needs help and the authorities are doing nothing to help him. People need to stand together and demand more respect from those in charge of our game," Ferdinand commented.

(Photo: Instagram - @rioferdy5)

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti also expressed unusual anger, refusing to speak about football at a press conference in order to explain what happened to his player.

"I thought about taking him off because the atmosphere was racist and I don't think that's right. I have to take a player out when he's not playing well, but the thought of taking a player out because of racism, it's never occurred to me to take away from the game. It's happened before, but not like today. It's unacceptable. The Spanish league has a problem and it's not Vinicius. Vinicius is the victim of a very serious problem." said the coach according to 'Defensa Central'.

(Photo: Instagram - @mrancelotti)

The same magazine also writes that Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez "exploded" when he found out what had happened. He was in Kaunas to watch the basketball team win the Euroleague when he found out about the incident. We'll have to wait until he returns to see how he continues to react and if the club takes any action.

Even Brazilian President Lula da Silva has championed Vini Jr.: "It's not fair that a poor young man who has made it in life and is becoming one of the best footballers should be attacked like that. We can't allow fascism and racism to take hold in football stadiums," he said at a press conference published on his social media.

LaLiga is by no means the only football league facing issues with racism. Romelu Lukaku has been dealing with much the same on-field racism as Vini Jr. in Italy's Serie A. While in the EPL, Brentford Ivan Toney had to speak out after receiving a deluge of racist messages on his social media accounts following a loss earlier in the year.

See more: Romelu Lukaku and the racism problem in Italian football

Incidentally, Valencia won the game 1-0 through a goal by Diego López and thus secured their place in the Primera Division.

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