A Spanish court sentenced three men to eight months in prison on Monday for targeting Brazilian superstar athlete Vinícius Júnior with racist chants when his Real Madrid team played in Valencia last May.
In a statement, the country’s famous soccer league, known as La Liga, said that the punishment marks the first conviction for racism-related cases in professional soccer in Spain.
Last May, fans were heard loudly chanting mono—“monkey,” in Spanish—and making monkey gestures, which led to public outrage and widespread international support for Vinícius. The soccer star said afterward that similar incidents had happened repeatedly and that while he sees Spain as a beautiful country, “Racism is normal in La Liga.”
After news of unprecedented punishment was announced, Vinícius took to X(formerly Twitter) in response. He said he was warned that efforts to combat racism were in vain. But, he added, “I’m not a victim of racism. I am a tormentor of racists.” The historic conviction is for all Black people, not only him, the athlete also said.
The league said the case sends a warning to others who might go to a stadium to hurl insults. “This sentence is great news for the fight against racism in Spain since it repairs the damage suffered by Vinícius Jr.,” La Liga president Javier Tebas said.
In addition to their prison terms, the three perpetrators—described as young men in a statement from Real Madrid—are also banned from attending matches for two years.
The men “were found guilty of an offense committed in violation of the moral integrity of Vinícius Júnior, which was aggravated due to racist motives,” Real Madrid said, adding that the club had helped pursue the case.
The three men sentenced on Monday saw their punishment reduced from a year in prison and a three-year ban due to their cooperation with the investigation. In court, they also read a letter of apology to Vinícius — and to “everyone else who felt offended and degraded by their behavior,” according to Real Madrid.
Vinícius announced last December that he was taking up a new role working with the United Nations to champion human rights. “For me, this specific year has been a stark reminder that we still have a long journey ahead to eliminate bigotry from sports and society,” he said.
The court ruling comes amid a crackdown on disrespectful and insulting chants by high-profile leagues in Spain, England, and France. In some cases, the resulting punishment consists of fines (particularly against players or teams) and the closure of entire areas of a stadium’s stands.