The Spanish Football Association imposed partial closure of the stands and fined Valencia club for racial discrimination against Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid) during a match.

The Spanish Football Association announced on the 24th that “the match committee has decided to impose a penalty of 45,000 euros (approximately 64 million won) on the Valencia club by partially closing the seats for five matches.”

On the 22nd, at Mestaya Stadium in Valencia, Spain, where the 35th round of the 2022-2023 Spanish Primera Liga between Real Madrid and Valencia was held, a fierce battle of words broke out between Vinicius and Valencia’s home crowd during the second half, and the game was temporarily suspended.

The sound of ‘monkey, monkey’ came from the crowd, and Vinicius, who heard it, had an emotional conflict with the crowd. Vinicius even had the bad news of being sent off during a physical fight with Valencia players at the end of the game.

Vinicius said through his social network service (SNS) after the game, “This is not the first, second, or third time. In La Liga, racism has become commonplace.” “La Liga, which was once dominated by Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Lionel Messi, has now become the domain of racists,” he said.

As the racist case against Vinicius became known, soccer fans around the world raised their voices of criticism. The government of Brazil, Vinicius’ home country, summoned the Spanish ambassador and demanded an apology and a countermeasure. President Lula urged, “I hope that human rights organizations including the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) will take action to eliminate racial discrimination in football.” Brazilians also expressed their opposition to racial discrimination by temporarily turning off the lights at the Christ Jesus statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

As the situation escalated out of control, the Spanish police belatedly came to the rescue. Police arrested three people for making racist remarks at the stadium at the time and separately arrested four people in Madrid last January for hanging a doll wearing a shirt with Vinicius’ name on it from the railing of a bridge in Madrid. announced.스포츠토토

The Spanish Football Association also punished the Valencia club for not properly stopping racial discrimination. The association ordered the closure of the ‘Mario Kempes stands’, where racist comments were mainly made, and imposed a fine for five games.