Police in Spain announced Tuesday that four people were arrested for hanging an effigy based on Real Madrid footballer Vinicius Junior from a bridge in Madrid, in January.
The arrests follow two days following the latest incident of racial abuse directed at the Brazil forward during a Spanish League match against Valencia.
The effigy, which was hung by its neck on the morning before a Copa del Rey derby between Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid, was hung. A banner bearing the words “Madrid Hates Real” was also attached to it.
The perpetrators used an image of a black man with the name Vinicius on it. They tied a rope to its neck, and hung it from a bridge in Madrid while it was still dark.
Atletico ultrafan group often uses the hate message on banners, although it initially denied responsibility for the display.
The four arrested people are aged between 19 and 24. Authorities say some of the suspects were identified at matches deemed to be high-risk for violence.
On Tuesday, police released images showing them in handcuffs being escorted and received by agents.
Spanish media reported that some of the ultras belonged to Atletico.
The police used surveillance cameras to identify perpetrators, but until now no action was taken.
Vinicius has received racist taunts repeatedly in Spain. This is especially true this season, after he started dancing to celebrate his goals.
Vinicius claimed that a fan in the stands behind one of Valencia’s goals had called him a “monkey” and made monkey gestures towards him. The match was then temporarily halted. Vinicius thought about leaving the field, but he continued to play.
The Brazilian received the support of officials and athletes from around the globe and strongly criticized Spanish football for not doing enough to stop racism.
Valencia has banned a fan for life who was identified as having insulted Vinicius in the match. Real Madrid reported the incident to authorities as a hate crime.
The Spanish League has filed nine criminal cases against Vinicius for racial abuse in the past two seasons. Most of these cases were dismissed by prosecutors. The league had previously said it could only report incidents and alert authorities to them and the country’s soccer federation.
