People take part in a demonstration in support of Real Madrid's Brazilian forward Vinicius Jr in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on May 25, 2023. (Photo by Bruno Kaiuca / AFP)
MADRID: A Spanish court opened a judicial investigation on Friday into an alleged hate crime perpetrated by the three people arrested this week for racially abusing Real Madrid player Vinicius Junior during a game.
Vinicius, who is Black, was subjected to racist taunts on Sunday in Valencia at Mestalla Stadium, which will have parts of its stands closed for the next five games. The Brazil forward has repeatedly been targeted by similar abuse this season.
The Valencia-based court said in a statement that Vinícius will be asked to give testimony via video-conference at some point.
The judge also asked for the Valencia club to identify the security guards at the game so they could possibly give testimony and to conserve any audiovisual material of the match from the 72nd minute for possible study.
