La Liga Reports Racism Against Vinicius Jr and Mbappe

La Liga has reported alleged racist chanting towards Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe during Real Madrid’s match at Real Oviedo earlier this month to Spain’s National Police.

The chanting reportedly occurred at Oviedo’s Carlos Tartiere Stadium during the league match on August 24, with chants imitating monkey sounds heard on multiple occasions. La Liga’s complaint to Spain’s National Police General Commissariat includes evidence from the television broadcast of Movistar’s TV programme ‘El Dia Despues’ and widely shared video footage on social media.

Oviedo club president, Martin Pelaez, stated, “Real Oviedo condemns any act of racism, machismo, any discrimination. We are investigating the incident with our security personnel, and if confirmed, we will take appropriate action. It cannot be tolerated here or anywhere else.”

Real Madrid won the match 3-0 with two goals from Mbappe and one from Vinicius Jr. Vinicius Jr has faced racist abuse at various stadiums in Spain and on social media platforms. In March 2024, he expressed his distress over the increasing racism in football and the lack of consequences for offenders, leading him to feel demotivated to play.

In June 2024, three individuals were sentenced to eight months in prison in Spain for racially abusing Vinicius Jr during a La Liga match in May 2023 at Valencia, marking the first conviction for racist insults in a Spanish football stadium. In September, a fan was fined €60,001 and banned from sports stadiums for two years for online racial abuse towards Vinicius Jr. Another supporter received a one-year prison sentence for racially abusing Vinicius Jr and Samuel Chukwueze separately.

In May this year, five supporters received suspended prison sentences and fines for racist chants aimed at Vinicius Jr during a match against Real Valladolid. These incidents highlight a concerning pattern of racial abuse in sports, particularly targeting Vinicius Jr.