The day of the Madrid derby in the Copa del Rey has dawned with an unacceptable threat to Real Madrid striker Vinicius Junior. Radicals, presumably members of the Athletic Front, have hung a soccer player doll of a bridge in the capital, close to the Ciudad Deportiva de Valdebebas.
Next to the doll, they have placed a banner that reads “Madrid hates Real”. As reported by Marca, in recent days more banners of this type have appeared in the capital, which were removed by the municipal cleaning services.
The phrase that appears on the banner is one of the traditional slogans of the Athletic Front, the group of violent far-right fans of the mattress team.
“Strong” condemnation
Atlético has expressed that it “strongly condemns” these events and highlights that “He has always condemned and condemns any type of violent expression that alters the healthy rivalry in the city between the two hobbies”reiterating that he is “against any type of violence and insult”.
The RFEF, organizer of the Copa del Rey, has sent “a message of support for Vinicius”, in the face of an act that he calls “intolerable”: “These types of demonstrations, loaded with hate, only encourage violence and have no place in our sport. Football must be lived with passion, but always respecting the players, the opponent and the fans”.
LaLiga has also ruled in a similar direction: “We strongly condemn acts of hate against Vinicius. Intolerance and violence do not fit in football. As on previous occasions, LaLiga will urge the investigation of the facts in search of the conviction of those responsiblerequesting the most severe criminal sanctions”.
This embarrassing event comes after Vinicius has repeatedly denounced being the victim of racist insults. In the last league derby, played at the Metropolitano in September, radicals sang “Vinicius, you are a monkey” in the vicinity of the stadium. The facts were investigated, without the authorities being able to identify the culprits.
In the last few hours, the derby had been heated by Real Madrid’s warning to those who bought tickets that they reserved the right not to give access to the field to fans wearing rival shirts, in this case Atlético. A practice that Barcelona has also been applying in recent games at the Camp Nou and that goes against sportsmanship and coexistence between fans.