Seven people have been punished for acts of racism towards Real Madrid’s Brazil forward Vinicius Jr. Four men were fined 60,001 euros (£51,700) and given a two-year stadium ban for hanging an effigy of Vinicius near Real’s training ground in January. The four men were arrested 11 days ago and released on bail by a Madrid court. Three other people were fined 5,000 euros (£4,300) and banned for one year for making racist gestures during Real’s game at Valencia on 21 May. Those three are aged between 18 and 21, the police said. The sanctions were given by Spain’s State Commission against Violence, Racism, Xenophobia and Intolerance in Sport, said the country’s Sports Commission on Monday.
Vinicius, whose red card for violent conduct late in the Valencia match was rescinded, later said the Spanish league “belongs to racists”. La Liga president Javier Tebas and the league’s handling of the incident was widely condemned after he told Vinicius on social media that “you need to inform yourself properly”. Tebas later apologised to Vinicius, saying he did not mean to “attack” the 22-year-old. The Brazilian government called for severe sanctions against those responsible for the racial slurs and La Liga said it will seek “more sanctioning powers” to ensure it can punish such incidents. In response to this, Brazil will play friendlies against Guinea and Senegal in Lisbon on 17 and 20 June, as part of an anti-racism campaign. This is to show that racism has no place in sport or society.