With a brace from Robert Lewandowski, Barcelona thrashed Real Madrid 4-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu for LaLiga’s Matchday 11. Lamine Yamal and Raphinha were the other goalscorers of the night. However, not everything was positive for the Blaugranas, as they were subjected to racist insults. Vinicius Jr. has broken his silence on the matter.
“It’s shameful what happened yesterday at the Bernabéu with racist insults. There is no place for these criminals in our society. All my support to Lamine, Ansu, and Raphinha. I know that Madrid and the police will take the necessary steps to identify and punish those responsible!,” Vinicius wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday, Oct. 27th, after it was confirmed that an investigation was in place.
During the celebration of the 0-3, several fans in a section of the stands at the Bernabéu hurled severe racist insults at some Barça players, especially Lamine Yamal, who scored the goal, including phrases like “f***ing black” or “go to the traffic light to sell tissues.” After the match, the footage went viral.
Vinicius has been a victim of racist abuse himself on several occasions since arriving in Madrid. One of the most high-profile cases ended up with three fans being found guilty of racially abusing Vinicius during a game at Valencia’s Mestalla stadium in May 2023, in the first verdict of its kind in Spain.
Real Madrid to open an investigation
Real Madrid announced that they are opening an investigation on Sunday. “Real Madrid strongly condemns any behavior involving racism, xenophobia, or violence in football and sports, and deeply regrets the insults that a few fans directed last night in one of the stadium’s corners,” the statement from Los Blancos said.
They added, “Real Madrid has launched an investigation to locate and identify the perpetrators of these regrettable and despicable insults, in order to take the appropriate disciplinary and legal actions.”
The Spanish government will also ‘study’ the events of El Clasico
Meanwhile, LaLiga announced that they “will immediately report the racist insults and gestures aimed at Barcelona players to the National Police’s Hate Crime Group, as well as informing the Coordinating Hate Crimes Prosecutor with the Hate Crime and Discrimination Unit at the State Attorney General’s Office.”
“LaLiga strongly condemns the events that occurred at the Santiago Bernabéu and remains firm in its commitment to eradicate any type of racist behavior and hatred inside and outside stadiums. There is no place for this scourge in sport,” they concluded.
Lastly, the Spanisg government also released a statement indicating that the commission against violence, racism and other hate crimes will meet on Monday to study the incident.
“The ‘Clasico’ is one of the greatest spectacles in the world, a true expression of the importance that soccer has in our country,” the government said. “During this game, or in any sporting event, there can never be any room for expressions of violence, racism, xenophobia, hatred or intolerance.”