Vinicius applauds Sevilla for taking swift action against racist fan

Vinicius has unfortunately been the target of racist abuse at several La Liga stadiums during his time in Spain.

Regrettably, another such incident occurred during a match between Real Madrid and Sevilla.

Footage from the game showed a man and a young fan making racist monkey gestures towards him. This incident unfolded in the 85th minute of the game.

Vinicius had already had an altercation with the crowd at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium in Seville.

This time, he became entangled with goalkeeper Orjan Nyland while attempting to retrieve the ball for a quick corner kick.

The 23-year-old pushed the goalkeeper, leading to a confrontation with Sevilla’s players who came to Nyland’s defense.

This then led to a scuffle right in front of the north stand, with objects being thrown onto the pitch in the midst of an already tense game.

As Vinicius and Ocampos faced off, a fan made a racist gesture during the altercation, resulting in yellow cards for both players from referee De Burgos Bengoechea.

What did Sevilla say?

The Andalusian outfit confirmed after the conclusion of the match that a fan had been removed from the stadium and would be subjected to disciplinary actions by the club.

“Sevilla FC would like to communicate that, after detecting xenophobic and racist behaviour, a member of the public was identified, ejected from the stadium and handed over to legal authorities. The individual will also be subject to the club’s vigorous internal disciplinary protocols and have their membership revoked.

“Sevilla FC condemns all racist and xenophobic behaviour and will work closely with the authorities to ensure that action is taken accordingly. This behaviour does not belong at Sevilla FC”, they said in an official statement.

What did Vinicius say?

Despite the prompt identification of the fan involved, in a social media post, Vinicius conveyed his sadness over the fact that one of the individuals involved was a child.

The Brazilian star has emphasized that this incident marks the 19th occasion he has been subjected to such abuse. He has called upon Spanish authorities to take measures to prevent such incidents from recurring, including pursuing criminal actions against anyone found guilty of racially abusing a player.

“Congratulations to Sevilla for their quick action and for punishing yet another sad episode for Spanish football. Unfortunately, I was shown a video of another racist act at Saturday’s match, this time by a child. I’m very sorry that there was no one to educate them. I invest, and I invest a lot, in education in Brazil to form citizens with attitudes different from these.

“The face of today’s racist is plastered all over the websites, as it has been on several other occasions. I hope the Spanish authorities do their part and change the law once and for all”, the post on Instagram said.

“These people have to be punished criminally too. It would be a great first step to prepare for the 2030 World Cup. I’m on hand to help. Sorry to sound repetitive, but this is isolated episode number 19. And counting…”

Photo credit: IMAGO / Pressinphoto