Real Madrid’s forward Vinicius Junior spoke out against three people who are accused of racially abusing him during a game in Spain last season. He gave his testimony through a video call from Madrid, even though the hearing happened in Valencia.
Vinicius told the judge that he felt hurt by the racist insults he supposedly heard during a match at Valencia’s Mestalla stadium on May 21.
He’s 23 years old and said that while he gets motivated when fans are against him, racism should not be allowed.
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Vinicius testifies in court
Some sources said that Vinicius was told by the accused fans’ lawyers that he’s called a “monkey” because he provokes people. Vinicius disagreed, saying that provoking opponents is part of the game, but it doesn’t justify abuse. The judge agreed with him.
Besides Vinicius, the judge also mentioned that Éder Militão, a defender for Real Madrid and Brazil, was a victim of racial abuse in the same incident.
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Valencia refuse to apologise
The three accused fans, who are between 18 and 21 years old, are facing charges related to hate crimes. After the incident in May, Valencia banned these fans from their stadium for life.
However, Valencia CF, the club, asked Vinicius to correct his statement. According to reports, he said that the entire Mestalla stadium insulted him with racist words.
Valencia CF disagreed with this and said that racism has no place in football or society, but they want Vinicius to correct his statement because they believe it’s not fair to label all their fans as racist.
