Five individuals sentenced to one-year jail term for racial abuse against Real Madrid star Vinicius | OneFootball

The Valladolid Provincial Court has sentenced five football fans to one year in prison each for racially abusing Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior during a La Liga match in 2022, AS reports.

The insults were hurled at the Brazilian during Madrid’s away fixture against Real Valladolid at the Jose Zorrilla Stadium and were considered hate crimes by the court.

The incident occurred in the 88th minute of the game, when Vinicius was taken off and walking along the sidelines towards the Madrid bench.

It was at that moment that five individuals directed racially offensive slurs at Vinicius.

Fortunately, their actions were caught on video by several spectators and quickly spread across social media, sparking outrage across Europe.

Following investigations and legal proceedings, all five defendants took responsibility for their actions and accepted a plea deal agreed with the prosecution.

They issued written apologies, acknowledged the racist nature of their words, and agreed not to attend any football matches in public stadiums during the suspension of their sentences.

Each one of them has been handed a one-year jail term, but the court has suspended their sentences for three years on the condition that they do not commit further crimes.

They must also be available at the court’s beck and call, and report any change of address. Four of the offenders have been fined €1,620 each, while the fifth will pay €1,080.

They’ve all been banned from working in any educational, sports, or youth-related fields for more than three years.

Vinicius has repeatedly been subject to racial abuse in Spain. But he chose not to seek compensation, focusing instead on justice being served.

The ruling is also being sent to the State Commission against Violence, Racism, Xenophobia and Intolerance in Sport, which had previously opened disciplinary proceedings against the individuals.

La Liga president Javier Tebas welcomed the court’s decision, calling it ‘historic’ on social media platform X.

“For the first time in Spain, the court has convicted racist insults in a stadium as a hate crime,” he wrote.

“This historic ruling is the result of La Liga’s work and our commitment to football free from violence and discrimination. We will remain steadfast in this fight.”