Sevilla promise strong action against supporter who racially abused Vinicius Jr
The club confirmed a supporter has been handed over to the ‘legal authorities’ over the incident.
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A Sevilla supporter was ejected from their LaLiga match with Real Madrid after allegedly directing racist abuse towards Vinicius Jr during the 1-1 draw.
The Brazil international played 88 minutes of the fixture at Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan where Madrid captain Dani Carvajal’s header 12 minutes from time cancelled out David Alaba’s own goal.
Vinicius Jr later posted on social media about being on the receiving end of racism during the match on Saturday night, which Sevilla have now confirmed was the case.
A club statement read: “Sevilla FC would like to communicate that, after detecting xenophobic and racist behaviour, a member of the public was identified, ejected from the stadium and handed over to legal authorities.
“The individual will also be subject to the club’s vigorous internal disciplinary protocols and have their membership revoked.
“Sevilla FC condemns all racist and xenophobic behaviour and will work closely with the authorities to ensure that action is taken accordingly. This behaviour does not belong at Sevilla FC.”
Vinicius Jr was in the thick of the action throughout the draw, denied a penalty at the end of the first half before he was booked five minutes from time after he clashed with Sevilla goalkeeper Orjan Nyland, which sparked a brief melee between both sets of players.
It was only back in May when Madrid filed racism directed at Vinicius Jr as a “hate crime” to the Spanish State Attorney General’s Office following a string of alleged racist attacks aimed at the 23-year-old.
LaLiga called at the time for a legislation change to allow them to impose punishment on clubs for episodes of racist abuse and Vinicius Jr has stressed once more the need for change, especially with Spain hoping to host the 2030 World Cup alongside Portugal and Morocco.
“Congratulations to Sevilla on the quick positioning and the penalty in another sad episode for Spanish Football,” Vinicius Jr said in a social media post.
“Unfortunately I have access to a video of another racist act at this Saturday’s game, this time carried out by a child. So sad there is no one to educate her. I invest, and I invest a lot, in education in Brazil to train citizens with different attitudes.
“The face of today’s racist is stamped on websites as on several other times. I hope the Spanish authorities do their part and change the legislation once and for all. These people need to be criminally punished too.
“It would be a great first step to prepare for the 2030 World Cup. I am here to help.
“Sorry to sound repetitive but it’s episode number 19. And counting.”