With all the attention on the World Cup, the Spanish Justice department gave out a verdict with eyes focused elsewhere. After grim scenes of racism en masse in the Madrid derby in September, there will be no punishment for either the fans or the club.
The chants were described by the justice department as ‘disrespectful’ and ‘unpleasant’ towards Vinicius, but were not deemed sufficient enough to hand down any punishment. It was pointed out that the events occurred in a highly charged environment, and those in the stadium were reacting to Vinicius and Rodrygo Goes celebrating.
Videos circulated before the match of a large group of fans singing ‘Vinicius you are a monkey’, with abuse continuing into the statement.
After Brazil’s defeat to Cameroon on Friday night, Vinicius took to Twitter to condemn the ruling.
“All normal, but we will continue in the fight. I will not stop. Madrid there is only one of…”
This is a hammer blow for players and people of all minority communities. It sends the message clearly that racism is condoned if it is at the football stadium. Measuring the scale of that damage of that message sends is a hard task.
It also sends the message to players that they are not welcome in Spain, leaving a grim image of both the country and the league.