CNN
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Vinicius Jr. Scores Atlético Madrid of of Real Madrid 3-1 victory in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals After the star statue was hung from Madrid’s bridge on Thursday before the match.
Alvaro Morata gave Atlético the first-half lead, but Rodrigo’s stunning equalizer sent the quarter-finals into extra time.
Atlético were reduced to 10 men after Stefan Savic was sent off after receiving two yellow cards and goals from Karim Benzema and Vinicius sealed Real’s victory.
After scoring the goal, Vinicius screamed before dancing, clenched his fists and ran off.
After the game, the 22-year-old Brazilian national team posted a picture of himself. Social media Captioned “Vini loves Madrid! Only one!”
On Friday morning, Vinicius also posted a message saying, “Love always beats hate.”
The Spanish National Police has launched an investigation “into a possible hate crime”, the Madrid Region’s National Police spokesperson told CNN on Thursday.
In a widely viewed video on social media, a statue with Vinicius’ name and the number 20 Real Madrid shirt on his back hung from a bridge near Real Madrid’s training ground and read: ‘Madrid is Real’. I hate
Police at the Ortaleza train station, closest to the bridge, noticed the statue around 8:30 a.m. local time (2:30 a.m. ET) Thursday morning and immediately went to remove it, but they The words ‘Madrid hates Real Madrid’ were no longer hanging there when the banner read out, the press office said.
so Statement issued on TwitterThe Spanish league said it “strongly condemns acts of hatred and intimidation against Vinicius Jr.”
“La Liga will, as in the past, press for an investigation into the matter by the relevant national security forces and institutions, seek the conviction of those responsible and demand the harshest sentences.”
Atlético said the portrait was “disgusting and unacceptable” and was “embarrassing”.[es] society. ”
“Our condemnation of acts that attack the dignity of people and organizations is absolute and clear,” the club said. in a statement.
“The rivalry between the two clubs is the greatest, but so is respect.
“We do not know who the authors of this despicable act are, but their anonymity does not help them avoid responsibility. I hope it helps.”
“We would like to thank Real Madrid for the signs of support and care it has received following the racism, xenophobia, hateful, deplorable and abominable conduct of our player Vini Jr.” rice field.
“We express our most resolute condemnation of these acts that attack the fundamental rights and dignity of people and have nothing to do with the values that represent football and sport.” said in a statement.
“These attacks that our athletes are currently suffering from, or that athletes may be subjected to, are unacceptable in a society like ours.
“Real Madrid believes that those responsible for these despicable acts will be held accountable.”
Vinicius has previously faced racist abuse from opposition fans.
During Real Madrid’s match against Real Valladolid on December 30 last year, Vinicius said he was racistly abused by the crowd.A video on social media showed fans yelling at him as he left the field when he was substituted. is throwing an object forward.
Reuters reported Vinicius later accused La Liga of inaction regarding racial abuse, and the Spanish League said that “a criminal complaint of hate crime was filed in the Valladolid Magistrate’s Court, with images and audio clips released in open source.”
According to Reuters, La Liga said it would intensify its efforts to “eliminate all forms of violence, racism and xenophobia both inside and outside the stadium”.
September 2022, Aimed at groups of Atlético fans A 22-year-old into a racist chant during a league derby.
In a video posted on Twitter by Spanish radio station COPE, a crowd of Atlético fans outside Atletico’s Metropolitano stadium could be heard chanting “You’re a monkey, Vinicius, you’re a monkey.”
Spanish prosecutors dropped an investigation last December into racist chants directed at Vinicius at Atlético’s Metropolitano stadium.
Arrived in just 2 days Vinicius was condemned what he described as the racist criticism he received for celebrating his dance goals.
During an appearance on Spanish television in September, Pedro Bravo (head and president of the Spanish Agents’ Association) compared the Brazilian’s dance celebration after scoring a goal to the behavior of the monkeys, saying that the forward He argued that he should “stop playing” because he doesn’t respect his opponent.Sal. ”
Bravo was accused by many on social media of using racist language and later apologized on Twitter.
In the derby, several Atlético supporters were seen gesturing towards the Brazilian pair after Vinicius’ teammate Rodrygo opened the scoring and the two danced in celebration.
Vinicius talks about the racist abuse he faced at a dance celebration: The well-being of black Brazilians who won in Europe is much more worrisome.
“But the desire to win, the smile, the sparkle in the eyes is so much more than that. You can’t even imagine it. I was a victim of the xenophobic and racist comments. , none of that started yesterday.A few weeks ago they started criminalizing my dancing.Dancing that’s not mine.
“They are Ronaldinho, Neymar, [Lucas] paqueta, [Antoine] Griezmann, João Felix, Mateus Cunha… They belong to Brazilian funk and samba artists, reggaeton singers and black Americans.
“These are dances to celebrate the cultural diversity of the world. Accept, respect. I’m not going to stop.”
