From football fields to courtrooms. Spanish prosecutors have requested four years in prison for four supporters prosecuted for the hanging of a mannequin bearing the likeness of Vinicius in Madrid at the end of January, the public prosecutor announced on Tuesday.
The Madrid public prosecutor’s office indicated in a press release that it had requested “four years in prison” against these supporters, “all members of the ultra Frente Atlético group, ideologically affiliated with the far right, for hanging an inflatable mannequin with the Real player’s jersey Madrid Vinicius » Junior.
The public prosecutor accuses them of “crime of threats and other (crimes) against fundamental rights” and demands compensation for the “moral damage” inflicted on the Brazilian star.
The trial “does not yet have a date,” said the prosecution.
After their arrest at the end of May, a judge charged them with “hate crime”, a criminal category including racist offenses in Spain. These four suspects were released on bail with a ban on coming within 1,000 meters of a La Liga stadium during football matches.
This ban also extends to the Real Madrid training center, near which the mannequin bearing the image of Vinicius Junior was discovered. He was found hanging from a bridge on January 26, the day of a derby between Real and Atlético Madrid, under a banner bearing the inscription “Madrid hates Real”.
Real Madrid denounced a “racist” and “repugnant” act against its 23-year-old player, a regular target of racist attacks for months, saying they hoped those responsible would be punished.
These attacks aroused indignation in Spain and abroad, pushing football authorities and the Spanish authorities to raise their voice against a problem considered until now not to be taken seriously enough in the country.
