Spanish police arrest man who threatened and insulted 8-year-old girl for wearing Vinícius shirt
Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the Champions League Group C soccer match between Real Madrid and Braga at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023. Spanish police have arrested an Atletico Madrid fan for using racist language and death threats to terrorize an eight-year-old girl who was wearing a shirt of Real Madrid player Vinícius Júnior. Credit: AP/Jose Breton
MADRID — Spanish police have arrested an Atletico Madrid fan for using racist language and death threats to terrorize an eight-year-old girl who was wearing a shirt of Real Madrid player Vinícius Júnior.
The child suffered a “strong anxiety attack” due to the racist attack before the game at Atletico’s stadium last Sept. 24, Spain’s National Police said on Thursday.
The police said the alleged perpetrator hurled “racist insults and death threats” at the girl outside the stadium. He also “hit the arm of the family member who was holding” the girl before being stopped by other fans.
The man was arrested on Wednesday, the police said, after he was identified using video evidence and eventually located.
Vinícius, who is Black, has been repeatedly subjected to racist attacks. That included the hanging of an effigy of the Brazilian forward before a game with Atletico in January 2023. Four people were arrested for that incident. State prosecutors are seeking to put them in prison for four years if found guilty of the alleged hate crime.
