Real Madrid lodges hate crime complaint over Vinicius incident

The attacks, in its view, "constitute a hate crime" for which the club has filed a complaint with the State Attorney General's Office, the club said.

Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between against Real Sociedad, at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid. File | Photo Credit: AP

Real Madrid have lodged a hate crime complaint with Spanish prosecutors over racist chants hurled at Brazilian player Vinicius Jr during Sunday's match at Valencia's Mestalla stadium, the club said in a statement on Monday.

"Real Madrid C.F. shows its strongest rejection and condemns the events that occurred yesterday against our player Vinicius Jr," it said.

The attacks, in its view, "constitute a hate crime" for which the club has filed a complaint with the State Attorney General's Office, the club said.

Separately, the Movement Against Intolerance (MCI) and the Association of Spanish Soccer Players (AFE) said in a joint statement they had also filed a complaint with the same prosecutor's office, citing racial slurs against the Black player.