The Racist Incident Involving Vinicius Draws Condemnation to Atletico Madrid

On Tuesday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez criticized Atletico Madrid for not condemning racist insults directed against Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior from their fans. The club later issued a statement calling the harassment “unacceptable” and promising to keep searching for the perpetrators until they were expelled. A portion of the audience at the Metropolitano stadium where Real Madrid’s 2-1 win against Atletico was played on Sunday yelled, “You are a monkey, Vinicius, you are a monkey,” and threw lighters and other objects at the Brazilian forward and his teammate Rodrygo as they celebrated a goal.

Sanchez told Politico, “I’m a big fan of Atletico Madrid, so I was really upset,” while attending the UN General Assembly in New York. I was hoping the clubs would send a clear message about this behavior, and my team would be held to the same standard. Football teams must respond to this kind of behavior, in my opinion. Atletico did not state until Tuesday afternoon, although La Liga had already reported the incident to the Spanish Football Federation disciplinary committee.

In a statement released before the derby, Atletico Madrid declared, “We condemn the disgusting slogans that a handful of fans chanted outside the stadium.” There are tens of thousands of passionate and respectful Atletico fans who the actions of a few cannot tarnish. The tragedy has caused unimaginable suffering for the Rojiblanco family. As a result of the actions of a small group of people, we cannot let our whole fan base’s faith in us and support for our ideals be called into doubt. The Rojiblanco family is not accepting them back in any way, shape, or form; thus, our decision is final, and we will not relent until they are permanently excluded.

Vinicius’s ‘acting the monkey’ during goal celebrations ignited controversy after Pedro Bravo, chairman of the Spanish football agents association, commented on national television. He explained that the phrase he used was not meant to be racist, and Bravo apologized. The literal translation of this phrase is “playing the fool”; however, the Spanish use of the term is much more popular.

Even the mayor of Madrid, an Atletico fan Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida, has spoken out against the chanting fans. They don’t belong anywhere, Martinez-Almeida declared, not just at a sporting event. “I don’t think these folks deserve entry, so I think we should try to identify them. It’s completely unacceptable and must be criticized.” “As mayor of Madrid and an avid Atletico supporter, I can say this. That Atletico fans who are capable of using such a racist epithet makes me ashamed.”