Four people arrested for hanging a doll with the jersey of Brazilian soccer player Vinicius Júnior on a bridge were found guilty of a hate crime on Thursday and released under restrictive measures by a court in Madrid.
The four defendants are prohibited from communicating with or approaching the Real Madrid striker, and from remaining less than 1,000 meters from the Santiago Bernabéu stadium and the Spanish club’s training center, near which a doll was hung in January.
They are also required to keep the same distance from the Metropolitano stadium, where rival Atlético de Madrid plays, as well as from all stadiums belonging to the clubs of the Spanish Football League, from four hours before the start of matches until four hours after the conclusion.
Four people were arrested on Tuesday in the Spanish capital by the National Police on suspicion that they had hung a doll on Vinicius Junior’s shirt before the game between Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid.
On Monday, the Real Madrid Brazilian striker asked fans and clubs to be punished for racist acts and said there were already cases in several Spanish cities, releasing videos of insults he was the target of.
The 22-year-old Vinicius has been the target of several racist slurs and other offenses in recent months, with the player’s allegations sparking reactions of support for the athlete from FIFA and the governments of Brazil and Spain.
Real Madrid also said it had filed a complaint with the Spanish Attorney General “for hate crimes and discrimination” against the Brazilian player, the latest of which was on Sunday at the Valencia Stadium.