La Liga Fan Receives One-Year Sentence for Racial Abuse of Samuel Chukwueze and Vinicius Jnr
A La Liga football fan has been sentenced to a total of one year in prison after being found guilty of racially abusing Super Eagles winger Samuel Chukwueze and Real Madrid star Vinicius Jnr in two separate incidents.
The offender directed vile insults at Samuel Chukwueze during Mallorca's home La Liga match on February 18. Similarly, he targeted Brazilian winger Vinicius Jnr during Real Madrid's game against Mallorca on February 5, 2023.
A Spanish court has handed down six-month prison sentences for each incident and has also imposed a three-year ban from attending stadiums.
Vinicius recently expressed feeling "targeted" by discriminatory abuse from rival fans and stated that Spain should not be allowed to host the 2030 World Cup unless measures are taken against such discrimination. His remarks were quickly criticized by La Liga president Javier Tebas, who called them "incoherent."
Tebas noted, "If you look closely, you'll see that his statements aren't entirely aligned with what he says in the interview. While he suggested reconsidering the World Cup, he also stated that Spain is not a racist country."
He concluded by emphasizing, "Let's focus on what makes sense: Spain is not a racist country, and I agree with Vinicius on that point."