Four individuals have been apprehended in Spain in connection with a hate campaign directed against Vinicius, a player for Real Madrid.

 

Vinicius Jr © Gallo Images

Four individuals have been apprehended and interrogated in Spain on the grounds of allegedly orchestrating an online hate campaign that incites fans to racially target Vinicius Jr., the forward for Real Madrid, as reported by law enforcement authorities on Thursday.

On 14 and 15 October, several individuals were detained and subsequently released as investigations proceeded regarding social media posts that encouraged fans to don face masks, enabling them to verbally target a black Brazilian international player without revealing their identities, according to police reports.

They were the first detentions announced by police linked to the campaign, which set out to target the 24-year-old in the build-up to the Spanish capital's derby on 29 September at Atletico Madrid's Metropolitano stadium. It used the hashtag #MetropolitanoConMascarilla (Metropolitano with a Mask).

Vinicius Jr, who has faced abuse at a number of matches, last year called LaLiga and Spain racist after receiving slurs from the stands during a match at Valencia's Mestalla stadium.

In a landmark case, three Valencia football fans were each sentenced to eight months in prison in June for hate crimes against Vinicius Jr - the first conviction for racist insults in a soccer stadium in Spain.

On Thursday, Spain's National Police did not name the four men and there was no immediate statement from any lawyers representing them.

Under Spanish legal procedures, a judge will investigate and eventually consider whether there is enough evidence to proceed to trial.

Police said the online campaign went viral, raising "significant social alarm". The investigation remains open and could lead to more arrests, the force added.

DERBY INCIDENTS

LaLiga stepped in the day before the clash, saying it was calling for the arrest of anyone involved in the campaign that it said amounted to the crime of incitement to hatred.

There were no major incidents of racial abuse reported at that match but the derby against Real Madrid was suspended for several minutes due to items being thrown onto the pitch.

On Thursday, the prosecutor office in Madrid opened a criminal investigation to identify those fans who threw objects at Real Madrid's goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois, who was previously an Atletico player.

The Spanish soccer federation RFEF ordered Atletico to play last weekend's 3-1 win over Leganes with a partial stadium closure over the incidents.

Atletico Madrid may face additional sanctions from the government's Anti-Violence Committee due to incidents that occurred during the Madrid derby. The Committee has proposed a two-week complete closure of the Metropolitano Stadium in addition to imposing a fine of €65,000.

Following the derby incidents, LaLiga submitted a report to Spain's Commission Against Violence listing 142 alleged incidents related to Atletico's Frente Atletico "ultras", as hard-right fans are known, dating back to 2015.

LaLiga added it would file a criminal complaint and called for a ban on the Frente Atletico.

Atletico Madrid did not provide an immediate response to a request for comment; however, they expressed earlier this month their commitment to implementing internal disciplinary measures against associates involved in incidents of racism, xenophobia, or intolerance.

Atlético Madrid made the decision last week to withhold ticket sales to certain supporters for the team's upcoming five away matches across all competitions.