Real Madrid star Vinicius Jnr has broken his silence after a football fan was given a combined one-year prison sentence after being found to have racially abused the forward and another LaLiga star in two separate incidents.
Vinicius Jnr has been outspoken about the vile racist rhetoric he has been subjected to at times throughout his career in Spain’s top-flight and recently opened up on how he feels ‘targeted’ by discriminatory abuse from rival fans.
An offender that abused the 24-year-old – who is among the favourites to win the upcoming Ballon d’Or title – during Real Madrid’s clash with Mallorca on February 5, 2023 has now been sentenced by a court in Spain.
The court has handed down six-month prison sentences for each incident and also took the decision to implement a three-year stadium ban on the supporter, and Vinicius Jnr took to social media to react to the news after Real Madrid shared a statement.
Vinicius Jnr responded with two emojis, the first a hands together emoji, which means thank you, and the second a handshake emoji.
Vinicius Jnr (pictured) has broken his silence after a fan who racially abused him and Samu Chukwueze was handed prison time
The incident surrounding Vinicius Jnr took place when Real Madrid played Mallorca in February 2023
Vinicius responded to the verdict with two emojis are he shared Real Madrid’s statement on X
It was also determined that the same individual who was found guilty also directed hateful abuse at former Villarreal player Samu Chukwueze during Mallorca’s home LaLiga win on February 18.
The sentence was announced as suspended, conditional on the accused, who apologised and wrote a letter to Vinicius Jnr, and, according to Real Madrid’s official statement, showed remorse.
They have also participated or are due to participate in an equal treatment and non-discrimination program.
Madrid noted how this was the third criminal conviction handed down in recent times regarding racism involving their players.
Aurelien Tchouameni was also targeted in one of the separate incidents during the match between Mallorca and Real Madrid on April 13 2024, with the culprit apologising and expressing his regret for his conduct, Real Madrid said.
The accused also ‘agreed to carry out the socio-educational activities proposed to him by the Prosecutor’s Office in the juvenile jurisdiction’.
In June, meanwhile, three Valencia supporters were given an eight-month sentences for racially abusing Vinicius Jnr, which were the first jail terms for such incidents in Spain.
Ex-Villarreal star Samu Chukwueze was found to have been racially abused by the same fan in a separate incident
Vinicius Jnr recently hammered down on racism in Spain’s footballing community and insisted that the nation shouldn’t be allowed to host the 2030 World Cup unless action is taken against discrimination.
His suggestion was immediately brushed aside by LaLiga president Javier Tebas who labelled the comment as ‘incoherent’.
He said: ‘I think that, if you look, you will see that his statements were not entirely consistent with what he himself says in the interview. At the same time that he was saying that perhaps the World Cup should be re-considered, he was also saying that Spain is not a racist country.
‘Let’s remove what is incoherent and keep what is coherent: that Spain is not a racist country, and on that I agree with Vinicius.’
