Four Men Arrested For Hate Crime Over Real Madrid Player Racial Abuse
Spanish National Police officers have arrested four individuals aged 19, 21, 23 and 24 in Madrid as alleged perpetrators of a hate crime for hanging a mannequin with the shirt of Vinicius, a Real Madrid player, from a bridge.
Three of those arrested are active members of the radical fan group Frente Atlético, who support Atlético de Madrid.
The mannequin appeared next to a banner hanging on a bridge in the vicinity of Real Madrid´s training ground at the Ciudad Deportiva de Valdebebas hours before a “derby” was to be played between the two Madrid arch-rivals.
The investigation began on January 26 after the appearance of an inflatable mannequin hanging from a bridge wearing a Real Madrid player Vinicius shirt. In addition, a 16-meter banner was displayed in the same place that read “Madrid hates Real”.
The investigations carried out by the investigators through traces, witnesses or consultations in open sources, among others, allowed the identification of four men as alleged perpetrators of the events
In addition, the agents were able to verify that three of the alleged perpetrators belonged to a group of ultras fans of a Madrid club and that, previously, they had been identified during matches classified as high risk within the violence prevention devices in sport.
Once the four alleged perpetrators were identified, the police were able to arrest them in a coordinated operation with the Investigating Court number 38 of Madrid and the Cyberhate Section of the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office.
The case continues.
