Vinicius Jr – latest: Real Madrid racism row sees four arrests as La Liga seeks more powers to fight abuse

Four people have been arrested over the hanging effigy of Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr in Madrid as the fallout from Spanish football’s racism storm continues.

The effigy was hanged by the neck on the morning of the Madrid derby between Real and Atletico in January, beneath a banner bearing the words “Madrid hates Real”. The arrests come in the aftermath of a heated match on Sunday in which Vinicius was racially abused by some Valencia supporters, an ugly incident that has become a regular occurrence for the Brazilian winger to endure this season.

Vincius has said Spanish football “belongs to racists” and Real Madrid have lodged a ‘hate crime’ complaint. In Brazil, president Lula came out in support of the player and the lights were switched off on the Christ the Redeemer statue last night in solidarity.

Follow all the latest news and developments below.

Vinicius Jr news

• Four people arrested over the hanging effigy of Real Madrid star

• La Liga defends efforts to combat racism

• Vincius says Spanish football ‘belongs to racists’ after latest abuse

• Real Madrid lodge ‘hate crime’ legal complaint

• Brazilian president Lula offers support to player

• Lights switched off on Christ the Redeemer statue in solidarity

A timeline of recent racism in Spanish football

16:58 , Lawrence Ostlere

APRIL 2014: Barcelona defender Dani Alves had a banana thrown at him as he was about to take a corner kick at Villarreal’s El Madrigal stadium. Alves peeled the fruit and took a bite. A 26-year-old man was later arrested and charged with a “breach of fundamental rights and civil liberties”, fined 6,000 euros and banned from attending football matches for two years. Villarreal were also fined 12,000 euros.

AUGUST 2016: Referee Carlos Clos temporarily suspended a match between Sporting Gijon and Athletic Bilbao after racist chants against Bilbao striker Inaki Williams. RFEF’s Competition Committee ordered the partial closure of one of the stadium’s stands.

DECEMBER 2019: A second-division match between Rayo Vallecano and Albacete became the first to be cancelled because of offensive chants directed at players. Left-wing Rayo ultras had called Albacete’s Roman Zozulya - a white Ukrainian striker - a “nazi”. La Liga backed the referee’s decision saying it was “against all racism and xenophobia” in football.

JANUARY 2020: Racist chants against Bilbao’s Williams at Espanyol’s Cornella-El Prat stadium sparked the first xenophobic hate crime trial in Spanish football, with only one fan indicted. Prosecutors are seeking two years in prison, a fine and a stadium ban for him in the ongoing trial.

APRIL 2021: Valencia’s Mouctar Diakhaby said rival player Juan Cala cast racist insults at him at the Ramon de Carranza stadium in Cadiz. The entire Valencia squad left the pitch for a few minutes but later returned without the French defender to avoid a penalty. La Liga later said it had found no evidence Cala directed racist language at Diakhaby.

JANUARY 2023: Spanish police launched a hate crime investigation after an effigy wearing Vinicius Jr’s No 20 shirt was hung from a bridge in front of Real Madrid’s training ground ahead next to a banner in Atletico Madrid’s red and white colours that read “Madrid hates Real”.

FEBRUARY 2023: La Liga filed a legal complaint after Vinicius Jr was racially abused by Real Mallorca supporters. In response, Mallorca withdrew a fan’s membership card for three years.

Vinicius Jr needs protecting — or racism will drive him from LaLiga

16:14 , Lawrence Ostlere

Sports reporter Jamie Braidwood on the latest ugly episode in La Liga:

It is another week in LaLiga. Once home to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the Spanish top-flight is going through a period where it has a relative scarcity of stars: it does not have Erling Haaland, it does not have Kylian Mbappe.

It does, though, have Vinicius Jr, the leading light of Real Madrid and the new face of Brazilian football, an unmissable, thrilling forward with lightning feet and a ruthless edge in front of goal. Thanks to Vinicius Jr, LaLiga may be able to claim it has the best player in the world once again. He is the most important player in the division - and he is routinely a victim of vile, despicable racist abuse at away grounds.

On Sunday, Vinicius Jr had enough, sent off after he was targeted with monkey chants during a 1-0 defeat at Valencia, the latest incident to bring shame on Spanish football. The 22-year-old pointed out fans to the referee who had racially abused him at the Mestalla and as tempers flared between the two teams he was shown a red card for shoving Valencia striker Hugo Duro, even though Vinicius Jr had been held back from around the neck moments before.

Vinicius Jr was in tears, the pain written clearly across his face, unable to prevent what was unfolding again. Courageously, Vinicius Jr called out LaLiga, where he said racism had become “normal”. Spain, he went on, was known as a “country of racists” in Brazil after the events of this season, with abuse “encouraged” by opponents. Yet amid the widespread condemnation of the incident, Vinicius Jr was criticised by the LaLiga president, Javier Tebas, for “insulting” the organisation. The manner Tebas chose to respond was reflective of an attitude that has seeped into the roots of Spanish football, where the racist abuse Vinicius Jr receives on an almost weekly basis is somehow his fault, and is a response to how he plays the game.

Vinicius Jr needs protecting — or racism will drive him from LaLiga

Spanish police arrest four people after Vinicius effigy was hung from a bridge

15:04 , Luke Baker

Four people have been arrested in Spain under suspicion of hanging an effigy of Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr off a bridge in January.

An inflatable doll dressed in a Vinicius shirt was hung from the railings with a banner that read “Madrid hates Real Madrid” ahead of Real’s Copa Del Rey game with city rivals Atletico at the start of the year.

And Spanish police confirmed on Tuesday that four suspects had been apprehended.

The arrests follow the latest racism scandal that has engulfed Spanish football, with Vinicius targeted by racist chants during Sunday’s LaLiga game with Valencia.

Valencia sponsor Puma supports Vinicius after racial abuse

14:40 , Lawrence Ostlere

Valencia’s sponsor Puma offered its support on Tuesday to Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr after he was racially abused during their LaLiga match in Spain over the weekend.

Vinicius labelled LaLiga and Spain racist after receiving racial slurs from fans in Sunday’s game at Valencia’s Mestalla Stadium.

The Brazil forward pointed out the fans who were insulting him, leading to the match being paused for 10 minutes, and then got into an altercation with Valencia’s players which led to him being sent off in the second half. Real lost the game 1-0.

“At PUMA, we do not tolerate racism, we condemn discrimination in any form and stand in solidarity with Vinicius Junior and the wider football community in condemning events yesterday,” Puma, which sponsors both Valencia and LaLiga, said in a statement to Reuters.

Valencia’s other sponsors Coca Cola, Skoda, Cazoo and Caixabank did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.

Spanish bank Santander, whose title sponsorship with LaLiga ends after this season, also voiced support, saying it “strongly rejects all racism and discrimination” in any form.

‘Powerless’ LaLiga requests greater authority to punish racism after Vinicius Jr abuse

14:22 , Luke Baker

LaLiga will request greater jurisdiction to punish clubs whose fans are guilty of racist abuse after feeling “powerless” at the lack of current sanctions in the wake of the latest Vinicius Jr incident.

The Spanish league is engulfed in a racism scandal after Real Madrid forward Vinicius was allegedly subjected to racist chants during Sunday’s game at Valencia and later claimed it was an example of “continuous episodes spread across several cities in Spain”.

LaLiga, according to the country’s law, can currently only identify and report incidents, and punishment is rarely handed out.

Now it wants legislation changing so that it has the power to impose punishment such as forcing games to be played behind closed doors or financial penalties.

‘Powerless’ LaLiga requests greater authority to punish racism after Vini Jr abuse

Ancelotti expects Vinicius to stay at Real Madrid

14:00 , Karl Matchett

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti said on Tuesday he expected Brazilian forward Vinicius Jr to remain at the Spanish club despite facing racist abuse in several LaLiga matches.

“I don’t think (he will leave Spain), because he loves football and he loves Real Madrid. His love for the club is very big and he wants to make his career here,” Ancelotti told a news conference.

He said Vinicius was “very sad” yet overwhelmed by the “unconditional support” he was receiving “even from rivals.”

“He is the victim of what’s going on. Sometimes I see people putting the blame on him, saying that he provokes, about his attitude... no!” he said, adding that the fact that the insults had started as soon as the club bus arrived at the stadium invalidated arguments that Vinicius had provoked the fans.

Seven people were detained by Spanish police earlier on Tuesday, accused of different hate crimes against Vinicius Jr, including racist slurs allegedly hurled at the Brazilian during Sunday’s match at Valencia’s Mestalla stadium.

The arrests come a day after football federation chief Luis Rubiales said Spanish soccer has a racism problem, the 10th complaint filed by Real Madrid for racist abuse against Vinicius in Spain this season.

Ancelotti urged authorities to take more effective actions against racism and hate speech in soccer and said the protocols in place to deal with the issue were obsolete.

“I want actions! And nothing has been done yet.”

Serie A promises “path to zero tolerance” of racism

13:46 , Karl Matchett

Italian soccer will take a “zero tolerance” approach to racist fans, using technology to help identify offenders and ban them from stadiums, the head of Serie A said on Tuesday.

The issue of racist abuse of players is high on the agenda in European soccer after Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr was targeted during a weekend match against Valencia in Spain.

“There are in stadiums, as in society, a percentage of racist people,” Serie A chief executive Luigi De Siervo told reporters.

“Today with technology and stadium microphones they can be heard and we can punish them. It’s a battle, like a tumour you have to systematically remove it even if it has recurrences,” he added.

De Siervo noted that Italy had banned around 170 Juventus fans after they hurled abuse at Inter Milan’s Romelu Lukaku during an Italian Cup semi-final last month, calling it an example of the “path to zero tolerance” for racists.

The Italian government will invest 10 million euros ($11 million) to promote Serie A abroad, using the sponsorship to support its own “Made in Italy” export campaign, De Siervo told reporters at the briefing.

Serie A has slipped behind the English Premier League and Spain’s La Liga in terms of earnings power, and Italian soccer has struggled with fan violence and other scandals.

Juventus, the most successful club in Italian soccer, were docked 10 points on Monday as part of one of the inquiries into the club’s accounting.

But De Siervo said that investment by overseas funds in recent years showed that Serie A was on the way back, with the presence of Italian clubs in the three major European finals this season underscoring the recovery.

He said the Juventus case, relating to the accounting of transfers, showed Italy was tackling an industry-wide issue.

“We are the only mature country that looks at the problem and tries to solve it for the future,” he said.

Latest news: Seven men arrested over racist incidents

13:33 , Lawrence Ostlere

Police detained seven men on Tuesday over separate alleged racist incidents against Real Madrid football player Vinicius Jr as Spain’s main soccer league urged changes to Spanish law that would enable it to take steps to curb racism in stadiums.

A hate crime investigation was opened after an inflatable effigy dressed in the No. 20 jersey of winger Vinicius Jr was hung from a bridge in front of the club’s training grounds. Alongside it was a 16m (17.5-yard) red and white banner - the colours of rival team Atletico Madrid - that read “Madrid hates Real”.

Four men were arrested in Madrid, police said, three of whom were members of “a radical group of fans of a Madrid club”, who were previously flagged during matches as “high risk” to help curb violence during games.

Three men were also arrested in Valencia for racist conduct aimed at Vinicius in a match between Valencia and Real Madrid, police said on Twitter.

The arrests come a day after football federation chief Luis Rubiales said Spanish soccer has a racism problem, following a race-crime complaint lodged by Real Madrid.

After slurs were aimed at Vinicius Jr during a Spanish league match on Sunday, Vinicius Jr, in a social media post, called the racist abuse “inhuman” and asked sponsors and broadcasters to hold LaLiga accountable.

Carlo Ancelotti holds press conference detailing Vinicius Jr abuse

13:20 , Karl Matchett

Some of the responses here provided by Carlo Ancelotti in his press conference:

“Condemning acts of racism isn’t enough. We have been condemning acts of racism for years.”

“Maybe in the future I’ll have to take the responsibility of taking the player and the team off the pitch, but it shouldn’t be my responsibility.”

“Apart from the racism, which is the most serious, it seems that there is a culture of insulting. I agree with Xavi, who I thought was exemplary with his comments. Why do we think the culture of insulting is okay in football? In the post-match press conference, they told me that they weren’t chanting ‘monkey’ (‘mono’) at Vinícius and that they were only chanting ‘silly’ (‘tonto’). Why is that even okay? That’s not a racial insult, but it’s also an insult. Why should we get used to insults? That has to stop. We’re tired of being insulted every day. It happens to Xavi. It happens to Vinícius, where there is more racism. It happens to many others. They say ‘son of a b***h’, they say ‘f***ot’, they say ‘I hope your parents die’. It’s not war, it’s sport. We have a great opportunity to stop this. The FIFA president was already very clear and I hope the Spanish federation, LaLiga and the referees can be clear too.”

Paul Pogba says “nothing has changed” in the fight against racism

13:00 , Karl Matchett

Paul Pogba has posted to social media to offer his support to Vinicius Jr and says “nothing has changed” in the fight against racism.

“Who protects us? It’s not the first time, it won’t be the last either. But we must never let that pass again. We have so many examples and I think we all agree today that nothing has changed since then.

“Bananas, animal noises, songs against us? It’s mental illness and I think we all agree that neither ads nor slogans will change these people. If I’ve learned one thing this year, it’s that when someone has a black heart, nothing and no one can change that. If the institutions don’t want to find a real solution, let’s try to do it by ourselves, for ourselves.”

Vinicius Jr to Tebas: Omitting yourself only makes you equal to racists

12:40 , Karl Matchett

Vinicius Jr replied to LaLiga president Javier Tebas to give him absolutely no possible doubt how he feels about him, after Tebas tried to tell Vini his anger was misplaced:

“As much as you talk and pretend not to read, the image of your league is shaken. See the responses to your posts and have a surprise.

“Omitting yourself [from blame] only makes you equal to racists.

“I’m not your friend to talk about racism. I want actions and punishments. Hashtag doesn’t move me.

Commentator sparks outrage for criticising Vinicius Jr reaction after facing racist abuse

12:20 , Karl Matchett

A LaLiga TV commentator has sparked outrage online by claiming Vinicius Jr “is not an angel” and that he “provokes other teams” after the Real Madrid star was sent off for his reaction to being the victim of racist abuse from the stands during a 1-0 defeat to Valencia on Sunday.

The match had been halted for 10 minutes in the second half as Vincius pointed out to the referee which fans had racially abused him. The Brazilian was later red-carded in injury time after becoming involved in a brawl with Valencia players that saw him raise his hands to the face of Hugo Duro, although he also appeared to be put in a headlock by the Valencia forward.

Covering the game for LaLiga TV, co-commentator Toni Padilla said that while it’s important to stand against racism, Vinicius should not be free from blame for the sending off as he’s “not a saint” and often provokes both the opposition and their fans.

“It’s the worst that could happen,” said Padilla as Vinicius was shown red. “Because the player that hits out and you say ‘that’s a red card always’ is also the player that suffered some verbal abuse.

“We should stand with Vini Jr if he suffered racial abuse but it’s never justified that he hits Hugo Duro. It’s Vini’s mistake. It’s not a question of who’s the bad one. Look at Vini Jr [as he walks off the pitch gesturing to the Valencia fans] - you are going to second division.

“We should stand against racism always but we should also say that Vini Jr is not an angel, he’s not perfect. Sometimes he provokes the other teams. Every time he’s suffering verbal abuse, we should stand against racism and we should stand with Vini Jr. But also we cannot say he’s a saint.”

More here:

Commentator sparks outrage for criticising Vinicius reaction to facing racist abuse

Spanish newspaper says Vinicius lacked respect and Valencia were the victims

12:00 , Karl Matchett

Running somewhat contrary to the rest of the planet, Valencian newspaper Superdeporte offers the following:

“There’s a campaign from Madrid in a season where Valencia and their fans have already been the victims of referees and extremely unjust decisions and they want respect for the Mestalla. Vinicius responded with another lack of respect. The club requires the maximum respect for its fans for their exemplary behaviour on Sunday in the Mestalla.”

Continuing, the article by Andres Garcia says: “At the same time, [the club] condones energetically the Valencia fans who shouted racist insults to Vinicius from one of the stadium stands. They are perfectly compatible, which the Madrid-based media don’t want to understand.”

LaLiga boss Tebas labelled “embarrassing” over Vinicius Jr tweets

11:45 , Karl Matchett

Former Man City and England defender Micah Richards has labelled LaLiga boss Javier Tebas “embarrassing” for his attempts to portray Vinicius Jr as being in the wrong after he criticised the league over its lack of action regarding incidents of racism.

Replying to the Real Madrid forward saying “in Brazil, Spain is known as a country of racists” on social media, Tebas - president of Spain’s top flight - responded with a tweet of his own saying “before criticising LaLiga, you need to be well-informed yourself, Vinicius. Don’t let yourself manipulate and make sure you understand properly...the work we are doing together.”

But Richards says this deflection merely highlights the problem people suffering racist abuse have to deal with, including being told they are aiming their anger in the wrong direction.

“Javier [Tebas] has tried to make himself the victim in all this, it’s absolutely embarrassing what he has come out with in his statement,” Richards told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Monday Night Club.

“It makes my blood boil and that is part of the problem. It’s not just a football issue, it’s a life that people go through every single day.

“People don’t care enough and that is the problem. If people cared they would do something about it.

“It’s not about taking the knee or wearing Kick it Out shirts because it’s not working. I’m tired of having to talk about the same things that happens over and over again. We have spoken enough. The people who need to sort themselves out are the ones who are being racist. Until harsher punishments are delivered it’s always going to be the same.

“If Javier thinks like that, what chance do we have?”

LaLiga offer status updates of 13 cases of racism directed to authorities

11:35 , Karl Matchett

Annexed to their statement, LaLiga have also included details of no fewer than 13 cases referred to Spanish courts and their current status - nine of them involving Vinicius Jr.

The other players to have received racist abuse are Inaki Williams, Nico Williams (both Athletic Club), Samu Chukwueze (Villarreal) and Carlos Akapo (then Cadiz).

Theses cases range from January 2020 to the present day and they are in varying stages of judicial process, with the case of Inaki Williams awaiting a trial date for example and Akapo set to testify “in the near future”.

LaLiga release statement defending attempts to combat racism

11:30 , Karl Matchett

A statement from LaLiga presented this morning to UK media:

LaLiga will request more sanctioning powers, with the aim of being more agile and effective in the fight against violence, racism, xenophobia and intolerance in sport, where LaLiga has been leading the identification and reporting of such behaviour in football stadiums for years, but feels powerless when observing how its reporting ends.

Despite its intense and continuous fight against violence and racism to the full extent of its powers (currently, according to Spanish legislation, limited to identifying and reporting the facts that occur), LaLiga feels tremendous frustration at the lack of sanctions and convictions by the sports disciplinary bodies, public administrations and jurisdictional bodies to which it reports.

Faced with this serious situation, in the coming days LaLiga will formally request the amendment of Law 19/2007 of July 11, against violence, racism, xenophobia and intolerance in sport and Law 39/2022 of December 30, on sport.

The purpose of the proposal is to request that LaLiga may exercise disciplinary authority over incidents of this type which occur in matches of the professional competition, so that the disciplinary bodies of LaLiga may proceed to sanction them, among otherthings, with the total or partial closure ofthe sports venue, the prohibition of access to it in the case of members/fans and the imposition of financial penalties, without prejudice to the adoption of provisional or precautionary measures that may be appropriate, depending on the nature and seriousness of the incidents.

As we have been repeating in recent days, LaLiga has been leading the fight against violence, racism and intolerance on football pitches, both inside and outside the stadium, identifying such behaviour through its Match Directors, security officers and television cameras, and subsequently reporting it to the relevant bodies.

LaLiga sponsors finally find their voice on issues of racism in football

11:15 , Karl Matchett

Valencia’s sponsors Puma offered their support for Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr after he was racially abused during their LaLiga match in Spain on Sunday.

Vinicius called LaLiga and Spain “racist” after receiving racial slurs from fans in Sunday’s game at Valencia’s Mestalla Stadium.

The Brazil forward pointed out the fans who were insulting him, leading to the match being paused for 10 minutes, and then got into an altercation with Valencia’s players which led to him being sent off in the second half. Real lost the game 1-0.

“At PUMA, we do not tolerate racism, we condemn discrimination in any form and stand in solidarity with Vinicius Junior and the wider football community in condemning events yesterday,” Puma, who sponsor both Valencia and LaLiga, said in a statement to Reuters.

Spanish bank Santander, whose title sponsorship with LaLiga ends after this season, also voiced their support.

“Santander strongly rejects all racism and discrimination in whatever form it takes,” it said in a statement.

Real Madrid file ‘hate crime’ complaint after racial abuse of Vinicius Jr

11:00 , Karl Matchett

Real Madrid have filed an official complaint to the Spanish attorney general’s office after one of its players suffered racial abuse during a match.

Vinicius Jr was abused during Sunday night’s defeat to Valencia at the Mestalla stadium, halting the game temporarily to draw the officials’ attention to a section of supporters.

The 22-year-old was later sent off after a clash with Hugo Duro, and afterwards accused La Liga of not doing enough to fight racism, describing Spain as a “country of racists”.

His club has now released an official statement confirming that they have referred what they consider a “hate crime” to the authorities.

More here:

Real Madrid file ‘hate crime’ complaint after racial abuse of Vinicius Jr

Brazil’s president Lula defends Vinicius in news conference

10:54 , Lawrence Ostlere

Brazil’s president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has joined football clubs and players in coming out to support star striker Vinícius Júnior after he once more faced racist abuse in a Spanish league match on Sunday.

The latest incident took place in Real Madrid’s 1-0 loss at Valencia, a match that had to be temporarily stopped after the Brazil forward said he was insulted by a fan behind one of the goals at Mestalla Stadium.

Valencia fans were filmed making monkey chants toward Vinícius, who is Black.

Lula told a news conference in Japan on the sidelines of a G7 meeting that he hopes FIFA, the Spanish League and other soccer bodies “take measures so we don’t allow racism and fascism to take over” in the sport.

“It is not fair that a poor boy who is winning in his life, becoming one of the best in the world, certainly the best at Real Madrid, is insulted in every stadium he goes to,” Lula said. Several of his cabinet ministers also backed Vinicius and were critical of the Spanish league.

Spanish football chief admits “a problem in our country” over racism

10:45 , Karl Matchett

Spanish soccer has a racism problem, its football federation chief Luis Rubiales said on Monday, echoing criticism by Brazil after Real Madrid lodged a race crime complaint following insults hurled at their Brazilian forward Vinicius Jr.

The top-flight LaLiga is under pressure to do more to combat racism after the Brazilian president, FIFA and fellow sporting stars such as France forward Kylian Mbappe, Rio Ferdinand and Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton voiced support for Vinicius.

In a social media post, Vinicius Jr. called racist abuse “inhuman” and asked sponsors and broadcasters to hold LaLiga accountable.

“What is missing to criminalize these people? And punish the clubs sportively? Why don’t the sponsors charge LaLiga? Don’t the televisions bother to broadcast this barbarity every weekend?” Vinicius said.

The statement came a day after the match against Valencia at the Mestalla stadium was stopped for 10 minutes after the 22-year-old Brazilian striker pointed out fans who he said were hurling racist comments at him.

“The problem is very serious, and press releases don’t work anymore. Neither does blaming me to justify criminal acts,” he added.

Vinicius, Real Madrid’s second top scorer this season in all competitions (23) behind Karim Benzema (29), had previously described Spain as a “country of racists” after the match against Valencia on Sunday.

That provoked a response from LaLiga President Javier Tebas, who said on Twitter that enough was being done and that Vinicius should inform himself “before you criticise and slander LaLiga”.

“The first thing is to recognise that we have a problem in our country,” Rubiales said at a press conference in Madrid on Monday. It is “a serious problem that also stains an entire team, an entire fan base, an entire club, an entire country”.

Brazilian government calls on Spanish authorities to take action

10:44 , Lawrence Ostlere

Earlier on Monday, the Brazilian government called on Spanish and sports authorities earlier to punish those responsible for the “racist attacks” against the player, while the president of football’s governing body FIFA Gianni Infantino expressed his solidarity.

Other sporting figures such as Kylian Mbappe, Rio Ferdinand, and Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton also voiced their support for Vinicius Jr.

The 22-year-old Brazil international later posted a picture of the statue silhouetted against the moon on Twitter and expressed his gratitude for the support he had received.

“Black and imposing. Christ the Redeemer was like this just now. An action of solidarity that moved me. But I want, above all, to inspire and bring more light to our struggle,” he wrote.

Spanish Football Federation head Luis Rubiales admitted there was a real problem of racism in the country’s football where “press releases don’t work anymore”.

Lights switched off on Christ the Redeemer statue in solidarity

10:33 , Lawrence Ostlere

The lights on Rio de Janeiro’s iconic statue of Christ the Redeemer were switched off for an hour on Monday night in a display of solidarity with Vinicius Jr after the Brazil forward was racially abused during a club match in Spain.

The lights were turned off at 1800 local time to cap a day when the Brazilian government and the world of football united to condemn the racial slurs aimed at the Real Madrid player during a Spanish league match on Sunday.

The Archdiocesan Sanctuary that manages the monument carried out the act in cooperation with the Brazilian FA and the Observatory of Racial Discrimination in Football.

“The Christ the Redeemer Archdiocesan Sanctuary repudiates the racist attacks suffered by the Brazilian player Vinicius Junior,” the body said in an Instagram post.

“The lighting of the monument will be switched off as a symbol of the collective fight against racism and in solidarity with the player and all those who suffer prejudice around the world.”

Spanish police detain four over Vinicius Jr effigy hung from bridge

10:12 , Lawrence Ostlere

Spanish police detained four men on Tuesday in connection with an incident in which an effigy representing Brazilian soccer star Vinicius Jr was hung from a bridge in January, a day after a senior official said Spanish football had a racism problem.

A hate crime investigation was opened after the effigy wearing winger Vinicius Jr’s No. 20 shirt was hung from a bridge in front of the training ground of Real Madrid, the player’s team, along with a 16-metre red and white banner, the colours of rival team Atletico Madrid, that read “Madrid hates Real”.

The arrests come a day after football federation chief Luis Rubiales said Spanish soccer has a racism problem, following a race-crime complaint lodged by Real Madrid.

After racial slurs were aimed at the Real Madrid player during a Spanish league match on Sunday, Vinicius Jr, in a social media post, called the racist abuse “inhuman” and asked sponsors and broadcasters to hold LaLiga accountable.

The four men could be responsible for an alleged hate crime and three of them are active members of “a radical group of fans of a Madrid club”, police said. Those three members were previously identified during matches and qualified as “high risk” to help prevent violence in sport, they said.

LaLiga, the country’s top football league, is under pressure to do more to combat racism after the Brazilian president, FIFA, and sporting stars such as France forward Kylian Mbappe, Rio Ferdinand and Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton voiced support for Vinicius.

The effigy incident took place before Real hosted Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals in late January.

Vinicius Jr – latest news

09:55 , Lawrence Ostlere

Four people have been arrested over the hanging effigy of Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr in Madrid as the fallout from Spanish football’s racism storm continues.

The effigy was hanged by the neck on the morning of the Madrid derby between Real and Atletico in January, beneath a banner bearing the words “Madrid hates Real”. The arrests come in the aftermath of a heated match on Sunday in which Vinicius was racially abused by some Valencia supporters, an ugly incident that has become a regular occurrence for the Brazilian winger to endure this season.