Vinicius settles in court with child over racist gesture last season

The epidemic of racist abuse in La Liga reached entrenched levels at times last year, and one of the most disappointing aspects was the relative youth of the perpetrators. In particular, during a match between Real Madrid and Rayo Vallecano, a fan made a racist gesture towards Vinicius Junior.

The abuser in this case occurred last February in Vallecas and was a minor. He was caught on camera without any effort from those around him to take action. Earlier this year there was a historic ruling that saw three young men jailed for racist abuse during a football match, the first of its kind.

In this case, Cadena Cope says Vinicius settled out of court with the guilty party. They have sent Vinicius a written apology and committed to 40 hours of educational work, which the public prosecutor will judge. The 16-year-old has also been banned from La Liga matches for a year.

Vinicius has suffered immensely from racist abuse in recent years, and has not backed down in the face of it, but has instead taken it upon himself to demand harsher punishments and a change in the conversation.