Real Madrid have filed a complaint with the Spanish authorities after racist chants targeting Vinicius Junior were heard at Champions League games involving Barcelona and Atletico Madrid this week.
Vinicius was the subject of racist chants from fans gathered outside the Civitas Metropolitano ahead of Atletico’s penalty shoot-out win over Inter on Wednesday, which were clearly audible in footage shared across social media.
Footage also showed derogatory chants about the Brazil international being sung by supporters outside the Montjuic Olympic Stadium before Barcelona beat Napoli 3-1 on Tuesday.
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UEFA is understood to be reviewing match reports from officials before opening any disciplinary cases, while Madrid have taken the matter to the state attorney general’s office.
A club statement read: “Real Madrid asks the prosecutor’s office to ask the security forces for the existing recordings in both locations in order to identify the authors of said racist and hate insults.
“Real Madrid condemns these violent attacks of racism, discrimination and hatred that have been taking place, unfortunately repeatedly, against our player Vinicius Junior.
“Our club will continue working to defend the values of football and sport, and will remain firm in its fight for zero tolerance in the face of such disgusting episodes as those that continue to occur in recent times.”
Comunicado Oficial.#RealMadrid
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) March 15, 2024
Vinicius has repeatedly been subjected to racist abuse in recent years, most notably at a Madrid derby in 2021 and in Los Blancos’ 1-0 defeat to Valencia last May.
After that latter game, Vinicius became embroiled in a spat with LaLiga president Javier Tebas on social media, after the forward claimed racism has been normalised throughout LaLiga.
That led Tebas to say Vinicius was being “manipulated”, comments for which he later apologised after a public backlash.
On Thursday, Vinicius called on European football’s governing body to dish out harsh punishments in response to this week’s incidents.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Vinicius wrote: “I hope you have already thought about their punishment UEFA. It’s a sad reality that even happens in games where I’m not present!”
