October 25 – Four people who have not been named have been arrested and questioned in Spain on suspicion of conducting an online hate campaign encouraging Atletico Madrid fans to racially abuse Real Madrid star forward Vinicius Jr.
The men were detained on October 14 and 15 and then released as investigations continued into social media posts that urged fans to wear face masks so they could insult the Brazilian international without being identified ahead of the Madrid derby on September 29.
The campaign, which trended on the social network ‘X’ and gathered 1.7 billion views, 7,000 reposts, and nearly 56,000 interactions, called on the Atletico fans to attend the clash wearing masks and shout derogatory and discriminatory comments at the Real Madrid forward.
The match, which ended in a 1-1 draw, was temporarily suspended during the second half after ultras from Atlético’s Frente Atlético group threw lighters at Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. This led to the closure of that section of the stadium for one game and a fine of €3,000.
The arrests are the first linked to the case announced by police though in an earlier landmark judgement, three Valencia fans were each sentenced to eight months in prison in June for hate crimes against Vinicius Jr – the first conviction for racist insults in a football stadium in Spain.
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