MADRID.- An Atlético de Madrid fan has been arrested for uttering racist insults at a girl who was wearing a shirt of the Brazilian striker of the real Madrid, Viniciusbefore the derby between the two teams on September 24.
“The arrested person attacked the minor, who was in the arms of a relative, because she was wearing a shirt belonging to a Brazilian player from the rival team,” the Spanish police reported in a statement on Thursday.
The detainee “approached a girl who was wearing a rival team’s shirt and began to utter racist insults and death threats,” according to the same source.
The events took place on September 24 before the derby on matchday six of the League at the Metropolitano stadium, which Atlético de Madrid won 3-1 against Real Madrid.
In October, the 8-year-old girl’s aunt told Cadena Ser radio that both had been victims of racist insults by ultra fans of the Frente Atlético group near the stadium.
The woman said that the girl had been attacked because she was wearing a shirt belonging to Vinicius, a Real Madrid forward, who became the focus of the fight against racism in Spanish football last season after suffering insults in some stadiums.
According to the police, the detainee “even hit the arm of the family member who was holding her up to two times” before other fans intervened, preventing him from continuing his attack.
The man has been arrested “as alleged responsible for a hate crime,” the police note concluded.
The Spanish prosecutor’s office had opened an investigation in October for a possible hate crime for these events, after a complaint from LaLiga.
Real Madrid’s response:
Real Madrid invited the little girl to their next league match after the derby, which ended with their 2-0 victory over Las Palmas.
Players such as Rodrygo, Militao, Vinicius, Nacho and president Florentino Pérez himself posed with the little girl, whom they signed on a Merengue team shirt, according to images released in September by the club on its social networks.
FOUNTAIN: AFP
