Atlético de Madrid on Tuesday condemned the racist chants that some of its fans sent out against Brazilian Real Madrid striker Vinícius Júnior and vowed to work with the authorities to identify those responsible.
A group of fans in front of the Metropolitan Stadium chanted: “Vinicius, you are a monkey”, before the Sunday derby which Real Madrid won 2-1.
As a sanction, the Atlético stadium could be closed for some matches, depending on the outcome of an investigation.
Our club has always been characterized by being an open and inclusive space for fans of different nationalities, cultures, races and walks of life and few cannot tarnish the image of thousands and thousands of athletes who support their team with passion and respect. , the club said in a statement.
“These chants cause us enormous rejection and indignation and we will not allow any individual to hide behind our colors to utter racist or xenophobic insults. At Atlético de Madrid we have zero tolerance for racism, our commitment in the fight against this social scourge is total and we will not stop until we eliminate it ”.
The team “categorically condemned the inadmissible chants that a minority of fans knocked out of the stadium before the derby was held” and vowed to immediately expel all its members who had participated.
Likewise, the Spanish League has warned it will not tolerate expressions of intolerance and has promised to work with clubs and authorities to identify and bring any such case to justice.
La Liga added that it plans to submit an official report to the Royal Spanish Federation, which will decide whether to take disciplinary action against Atlético de Madrid.
The derby was surrounded by controversy, after Vinícius’ dances celebrating some recent goals were criticized by the host of a popular talk show, who used racist terms. This led the 22-year-old Brazilian to issue a statement in which he strongly condemned racism.
He said some groups had begun to “criminalize” his parties and that his success as a black Brazilian in Europe bothered some.
On Sunday, after Brazilian Rodrygo scored Real Madrid’s first goal, both he and Vinícius performed their samba steps near the corner flag. So they kept their promise to keep dancing despite the criticism.
Some Atleti fans threw objects at him.
It is not the first time that Vinícius has been the subject of racist insults. Last year something similar happened during a classic against Barcelona at the Camp Nou.
There have also been cases involving other players, such as Iñaki Williams of Bilbao.
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