“Monkey, monkey”…another “racism” in La Liga, where Lee Kang-in plays.

An investigation has been opened into the racist abuse of Real Madrid striker Vinicius by a spectator in the Spanish professional soccer league La Liga.

Police in Valencia province, in eastern Spain, have opened an investigation as a possible hate crime, the AFP news agency reported on Wednesday (Nov. 22), citing judicial sources.

The sports commission has proposed a one-year stadium ban and a 4,000 euro ($5.7 million) fine for the perpetrators, who have been convicted in similar incidents in the past.

The 35th round of the Spanish La Liga match of the 2022-2023 season between Real Madrid and Valenciaga on Aug. 22 (KST). Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior (23-Brazil) was involved in an altercation with a home crowd member behind the goal during the match against Valencia at the Mestalla Stadium in Valencia. Vinicius complained to the referee that he had been racially abused, pointing to a specific spectator, and his teammates joined in, resulting in a 10-minute stoppage of play.

“A spectator shouted ‘monkey, monkey’ at Vinicius,” the referee’s report said.In March, a fan of Lee Kang-in, 22, of Mallorca, was banned from the stadium for a year for shouting “monkey” at Vinicius during a match.

After the game, Vinicius posted on Instagram: “This is not the first, second or third time I’ve been racially abused. Racism has become an everyday occurrence in Spanish La Liga,” he wrote on Instagram after the match, adding, “La Liga, once dominated by Ronaldinho, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, is now the domain of racists.” He added: “The way the La Liga secretariat is handling it, it seems to be encouraging racism. I’m sorry to say it, but from Brazil to Spain, Spain is the country of racism. But I will fight against it to the end,” he added.

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti told reporters after the game that “something unacceptable has happened again,” and emphasized that the solution is to stop the game if a player is racially abused during a match. FIFA also expressed its solidarity with Vinicius, reaffirming that stoppages are allowed when racism occurs on the pitch.

La Liga countered Vinicius’ claims by saying that they have been proactive in responding to racism against him, including filing nine cases with authorized prosecutors.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula Dilma Rousseff, who was attending the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Hiroshima, Japan, also addressed the incident at the closing press conference the day before, calling Vinicius “the best player Real Madrid has ever had” and saying, “It’s unjust that a poor kid who has done so well, who is probably on his way to being the best in the world, should be insulted in every stadium he plays in.” Spanish Deputy Prime Minister and Labor Minister Yolanda Diaz tweeted that “racist chants in soccer stadiums do not represent Spain” and promised to continue efforts to end racism.토토사이트

The issue of racism is not unique to La Liga, but is a common occurrence in European soccer. Earlier this month, Son Heung-min was also subjected to racial abuse during the 35th round of the 2022-23 English Premier League (EPL) between Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace.

At the time, Tottenham said on its website, “We are aware that Son Heung-min was subjected to racial abuse during the match against Crystal Palace. Discrimination of any kind is abhorrent. It has no place in our society, our game or our club. We are working with Crystal Palace and the police authorities to investigate. We will take the strongest possible action,” the club said in a statement.