Vinícius Júnior appeared in court to testify in the case against the Valencia fans. OSCAR DEL POZO/AFP via Getty Images
Source: Africa Publicity
Three fans of La Liga club, Valencia, have been sentenced to eight months in prison for racially abusing Real Madrid star player, Vinicius Junior.
The trio have also been banned from stadiums for two years.
It would be recalled that the racial abuse of Vinicius Junior took place at Mestalla in May 2023 when Madrid played away from home to Valencia.
Real Madrid lost the match 1 – 0 to Valencia but the racial abuse of the Brazilian footballer sparked a global uproar. Vinicius during the match, identified an individual in the crowd who had been racially abusing him, leading to the match being suspended.
After the match, Vinicius Junior slammed Spanish authorities for how they were handling the matter, saying at the time that “racism is normal in La Liga”.
After months of trial, three fans were on Monday, June 10, 2024, found guilty of a crime against moral integrity — aggravated by racially motivated discrimination — under article 173.1 of Spain’s Criminal Code.
The trio were sentenced to an initial 12 months in prison, reduced by 1⁄3 to eight months, under a principle which sees reduced punishments for defendants who accept criminal responsibility.
The racist fans further received a three-year stadium ban, reduced to two years for the same reason, and will have to pay costs.
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