A Spanish court has convicted four people who hung an image of Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior from a highway bridge two years ago, Laliga said.
The defendants were found guilty of hate crimes after they had hung a black figure, with the name of Vinicius on it, in the Spanish capital for a Copa del Rey match against Atletico Madrid in January 2023.
The four of them must complete a training program for equal treatment and non-discrimination to have their prison sentences suspended. All the defendants signed an apologetic letter addressed to Vinicius, Real Madrid, the Spanish League and the Spanish Federation, which led to mitigation for compensation.
Together with the image that was hung on his neck, there was a banner with the words “Madrid Haat really.”
A suspect who has spread images of the law online was sentenced to 15 months in prison for a hate crime and seven months for threats.
The other three defendants were each sentenced to seven months in prison for hate crimes and seven months for threats.
All were also a fine and forbidden to come within 1,000 meters (3,200 feet) Vinicius, his home and the Madrid training center. They also cannot come within 1,000 meters of football stadiums from four hours before and four hours after matches are organized by the competition or the Spanish football federation.
They were also forbidden to have any form of communication with Vinicius for a period of four years from the end of the prison sentence.
Public Prosecutors had said that the four people belonged to a hardcore Atletico -Fangroep that 'has been ideologically identified with the extreme right'.
Laliga was on the business as a private public prosecutor.
In May, five Valladolid fans who were racially insulted Vinicius in 2022 were found guilty of what the competition said was that at the time the first statement in Spain was racist insults in a football stadium convicted as a hate crime.
Last year, three Valencia fans were given eight months in prison for arguing for racial insulting Vinicius in a match of 2023, in what the first conviction was for racism-related things in professional football in Spain, although it was not based on a hate crime.
The Valencia fans were convicted of a crime against moral integrity, with the aggravating circumstance of discrimination based on racist motives.