Police crack down

Four arrests after hate campaign against Vinicius

The Spanish police have arrested the four main perpetrators of a hate campaign online against Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior. They made the announcement on the X platform without explicitly naming the player concerned. However, Spanish media linked the arrests to the campaign against the 24-year-old professional footballer from Brazil.

The four men are said to have called on fans on the internet to shout racist insults against Vinicius Junior in the stadium before the city derby between the two top Madrid clubs on September 29. According to the newspaper "El País", they also incited fans to enter the stadium wearing masks to avoid being identified. According to the newspaper, the hashtag created for this purpose was called up millions of times. The four people arrested were aged between 24 and 26.

The match ended 1:1, but there were further incidents. For example, Atletico fans threw lighters and bottles at Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois in the heated stadium. The match had to be interrupted for around 20 minutes around the middle of the second half.