Four Atletico Madrid fans handed prison sentences over Vinicius Junior effigy

New York Times

20 hours ago

Four members of Frente Atletico — the radical group of Atletico Madrid fans — have been handed prison sentences by a Spanish court for the hanging of an effigy of Vinicius Junior from a bridge near the Real Madrid training ground in 2023.
The mannequin, which was clad in a Vinicius Jr Real shirt, was hung next to a 16-metre banner which read 'Madrid hates Real' and was displayed hours before the Madrid derby in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals on 26 January, 2023.
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The Provincial Court of Madrid on Monday sentenced one of the defendants to 15 months in prison for a hate crime, and an additional seven months for making threats.
The other three defenders were given seven months in prison for a hate crime and a further seven months for threats.
Their prison sentences will be suspended, provided they complete a course on equality and non-discrimination.
The defendant handed the longer sentence was deemed to have amplified the impact of the effigy by posting a video online, and was fined €1,084 (£893, $1,213). The other three defendants were fined €720.
The four defendants were handed restraining orders, restricting them from being within 1 kilometre of Vinicius Jr's home or place of work — Real's training complex in Valdebebas — and from any form of communication with the Brazil forward.
They were also banned from being within a 1km radius of any football stadium during La Liga games or those organised by the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), including reserve and women's team matches, for four hours either side of kick-off and full-time.
All the bans will be in place from four years from the conclusion of their sentences.
The defendant who posted the video online was banned from working in education, sports or with young people for four years and three months, while the others received bans of three years and seven months.
All defendants signed a letter of apology addressed to Vinicius Jr, Real, La Liga and the RFEF.
The proceedings were initiated following a complaint filed by La Liga, which joined the case as a private prosecutor.
In a statement announcing the ruling La Liga said: 'This ruling marks a strong step forward in the fight against hate and discrimination in sport. La Liga reaffirms its unwavering commitment to eradicating any form of racism, violence, or intolerance both inside and outside football stadiums.'
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The four defendants were arrested by Spanish police in May 2023 and handed restraining orders restricting them from going within 1km of Vincius or 100 metres of Real and Atletico's stadiums while the case proceeded.
The effigy was hung from a bridge on exit number five on the M-11 road — close to Real Madrid's training facilities at Valdebebas.
The prosecutor claimed the four defendants showed 'an unmistakable sign of contempt and rejection of the victim's skin colour and motivated by a desire to undermine his sense of wellbeing' by hanging an inflatable doll-like mannequin, 165cm in height, with black skin and black hair, from a rope.
Atletico Madrid and La Liga both condemned the hanging of the Vinicius Jr mannequin at the time, with Atletico labelling it 'repugnant and inadmissible'.