Police in Spain have arrested four men accused of coordinating an online hate campaign that called for racial abuse to be hurled at the Real Madridforward Vinícius Júnior.
Police said on Thursday that the men, all in their 20s, had been detained as part of an investigation into social media posts that circulated before Atlético Madrid took on Real Madrid in September’s derby.
The posts, which are believed to have had more than 1.5bn views, urged Atlético fans to attend the match wearing masks so they could insult Vinícius without being identified.
“Using social media, they called on fans to show up at the stadium to hurl insults that had racist connotations,” the police said on social media. The online campaign swiftly gained strength, setting off “significant social alarm”, police added.
As the campaign made headlines across Spain, La Liga said it would lodge a formal complaint and demand that those behind the campaign be arrested. “The campaign constitutes a crime of incitement to hatred [which is] clearly typified in the penal code,” it said the day before the derby.
La Liga welcomed news of the arrests. “These acts do not go unpunished and have their consequences,” the league said, as it vowed to continue to fight hate and racism in football.
In March, Vinícius laid bare the toll exacted by years of racist insults, revealing that the systematic barrage of abuse he had faced at more than 10 Spanish grounds was steadily chipping away at his desire to play. The emotional admission, coming from one of the favourites to win this year’s Ballon d’Or, prompted anti-racism campaigners to call on Spain to do more to address racism in football.
In June, three Valencia fans were sentenced to eight months in prison for hate crimes against Vinícius, in what La Liga described as the country’s first conviction related to racist abuse at a football match.
On Thursday, police said the four arrests had been carried out in mid-October and that further arrests could be made because the investigation was continuing.
The impact of the viral campaign also remains under investigation as a government-backed anti-violence commission looks into allegations of racist abuse. After the same match the Spanish football federation sanctioned Atlético with a €45,000 fine and a three-game partial stadium closure after supporters threw objects at the Real Madrid goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois.
