Spanish police arrest man who threatened and insulted eight-year-old girl for wearing Vinicius shirt

The child suffered a “strong anxiety attack” due to the racist attack before the game at Atletico’s stadium last September 24, Spain’s National Police said on Thursday.

Vinicius Junior of Real Madrid reacts during the La Liga match between Real Madrid CF and Sevilla FC at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on February 25, 2024, in Madrid, Spain. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

Spanish police have arrested an Atletico Madrid fan for using racist language and death threats to terrorise an eight-year-old girl who was wearing a shirt of Real Madrid player Vinícius Junior.

The child suffered a “strong anxiety attack” due to the racist attack before the game at Atletico’s stadium last September 24, Spain’s National Police said on Thursday.

The police said the alleged perpetrator hurled “racist insults and death threats” at the girl outside the stadium. He also “hit the arm of the family member, who was holding” the girl before being stopped by other fans.

The man was arrested on Wednesday, the police said, after he was identified using video evidence and eventually located.

Vinicius, who is Black, has been repeatedly subjected to racist attacks. That included the hanging of an effigy of the Brazilian forward before a game with Atletico in January 2023. Four people were arrested for that incident. State prosecutors are seeking to put them in prison for four years if found guilty of the alleged hate crime.