Mallorca fan convicted for racist abuse of Vinicius Jr and Samuel Chukwueze

MADRID – A Mallorca supporter who was found guilty of racially abusing both Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior and former Villarreal player Samuel Chukwueze has been sentenced to one year in prison and handed a three-year ban from attending football matches, as of September 26th.

The supporter was “found guilty of two crimes against moral integrity, aggravated by the fact that he acted with racist motives”, Real Madrid said in a statement.

The abuse of Vinicius occurred during Madrid’s 1-0 La Liga defeat by Mallorca at their Son Moix stadium in February 2023, before the fan insulted Chukwueze, now at AC Milan, a fortnight later.

Real said the fan’s prison sentence was suspended “after the defendant apologised and showed his remorse, with a letter addressed to Vinicius, having completed an equality and anti-discrimination program”.

It is the third criminal conviction handed down in recent months for racist insults towards Real Madrid players, in particular Vinicius, who has been the victim of numerous similar instances of abuse in stadiums across the country since arriving in Spain in 2018.

In June, three Valencia fans were sentenced to eight months in prison for racist insults directed at the Brazilian striker at their club’s stadium in May 2023.

These incidents, which provoked a wave of international outrage, have sparked debate in Spain, where cases of racism have been frequent in football stadiums for decades.

Real also said another supporter of Mallorca, a minor who racially abused midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni, had also been banned from stadiums for a year.

“(He has) apologised and shown remorse for his conduct, and he has agreed to complete socio-educational activities in the jurisdiction of minors as proposed by prosecutors,” added Madrid.

Earlier in September, Vinicius called for Spain to be stripped of its 2030 World Cup hosting duties, unless it makes progress on the issue of racism in stadiums.

On Sept 29, Real visit Atletico Madrid in a derby clash at the Metropolitano, where Vinicius has been the victim of racial abuse on several occasions. AFP