Vinicius Jr: Four charged over effigy of Real Madrid forward hung from bridge

Four members of Frente Atletico — the radical group of Atletico Madrid fans — are facing charges over the hanging of an effigy of Vinicius Junior from a bridge near the Real Madrid training ground in January.
The mannequin was hung next to a 16-metre banner which read “Madrid hates Real” and was displayed hours before January’s Madrid derby in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals.
Advertisement
The Madrid Public Prosecutor’s Office is asking for four years in prison for each of those charged, who they say are members of Frente Atletico and “ideologically identified with the extreme right.”
The four arrests were confirmed by the Spanish National Police in May, with the individuals now charged with two offences: intimidation and another acting against fundamental rights and public freedoms, as well as paying a joint compensation of €6k.
On May 24, the four individuals had been handed various restraining orders, preventing them from coming within 1km of Vinicius or Real Madrid’s training facilities while also stopping them from coming within 100m of either Real Madrid’s or Atletico Madrid’s stadiums.
It is alleged by the Madrid Public Prosecutor’s Office that the four members of Frente Atletico, in the early hours of the morning of 26 January 2023, ‘jointly agreed’ on the events that saw them go to the bridge with exit number five on the M-11 road — close to Real Madrid’s training facilities at Valdebebas.
The Prosecutor’s Office adds that the bridge is “a place which is also highly visible to all users of the road.”
The allegations continue that the four accused individuals, “as an unmistakable sign of contempt and rejection of the victim’s skin colour and motivated by a desire to undermine his sense of wellbeing”, proceeded to hang an inflatable doll-like mannequin, 165cm in height, with black skin and black hair, from a rope.
The mannequin was wearing a Real Madrid team shirt with the name and shirt number of Vinicius on the back, and was weighted by stones tied with insulating tape to what would represent his ankle.
The red cloth banner which carried the slogan “Madrid hates Real” was also hung, measuring 12.9m in length and 1.7m in width.
The Prosecutor’s Office continues that “by way of vindication and justification of the action”, the image was shared on social media platforms and was subsequently circulated by traditional media, “thus increasing the harm to the protected legal right of the person’s dignity — in this case both that of the victim Vinicius, and the club he represents.”
Advertisement
The Prosecutor’s Office also highlighted a second photograph which showed the blow-up doll during the preparation for the act, with the shirt of Vinicius leaning against the wall and accompanied by the hashtag #TodosSomosVini (We are all Vinicius). They allege this “increased the contempt towards that person, as it was used to show support for the victim and repudiation of the action deployed.”
Read more: The shocking abuse Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr faced at Valencia revealed in new report
Hundreds of Atletico Madrid fans were filmed singing monkey chants ahead of a meeting between the sides in September last year, four months before the two clubs met again in the Copa del Rey.
Atletico Madrid and La Liga both condemned the hanging of the Vinicius Jr mannequin in January, with Atletico labelling it “repugnant and inadmissible”.
An Atletico statement read: “Such acts are absolutely repugnant and inadmissible and shame society. Our condemnation of any act that attacks the dignity of persons or institutions is categorical and unreserved.
“The rivalry between the two clubs is the greatest, but so is respect. No individual, whatever their intentions or colours, can tarnish the coexistence between different supporters. It is everyone’s responsibility to avoid this.
“We do not know the perpetrator or perpetrators of this despicable act, but their anonymity does not avoid their responsibility. We hope that the authorities succeed in clarifying what happened and that justice helps to banish this type of behaviour.”
A La Liga statement read: “We strongly condemn the acts of hatred directed towards Vinicius Junior.
“Intolerance and violence has no place in football.
“As it has done before, La Liga will press for a full investigation in search of the facts and the conviction of those responsible, requesting the most severe criminal sanctions.”
(Photo: David Ramos/Getty Images)
ncG1vNJzZmismJqutbTLnquim16YvK57lGpobG9jbnxzfJFsZmpqX2WCcMLIp6CcoaWoeqvBzaKmq2Wimq6tecyam6uhlGKyp7LIoLBo