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    LaLiga files charges over racial abuse of Vinicius Junior

    La Liga has filed charges in a local court over racial slurs against Real Madrid striker Vinicius Junior during a 2-0 win over Real Valladolid last week.

    Vinicius was targeted by home supporters after being substituted late at the José Zorrilla Stadium, where a brace from Karim Benzema gave Madrid all three points.

    The Brazilian international has criticized La Liga for not taking action to eradicate racism, although league chief Javier Tebas called the comments “unfortunate” and “unfair”.

    On Tuesday, La Liga decided to punish those responsible for the mistreatment of Vinicius.

    “La Liga has filed appropriate allegations of racist slurs against football player Vinicius Jr. with the relevant judicial, administrative and sporting authorities,” the statement said.

    “The magistrates’ courts of Valladolid have been prosecuted for hate crimes, as evidenced by the audiovisual evidence collected during the investigation, carried out with the help of images and audio clips published in open sources.

    “La Liga has also asked the magistrates’ courts of Valladolid to forward the complaint to the prosecutor’s office for hate crimes so that she can participate in the case.

    “In addition, as has been the case for several seasons, a report of racist abuse has been submitted to the RFEF Competition Committee and the State Commission on Combating Violence, Racism, Xenophobia and Intolerance in Sports for study and evaluation for sanction.”

    In a social media post following Friday’s victory over Valladolid, Vinicius said: “Racists keep going to stadiums and watching the biggest club in the world up close and @LaLiga keeps doing nothing…”

    Tebas was quick to deny the claim at the time, and La Liga has now vowed to “intensify its ongoing efforts to eradicate any form of violence, racism or xenophobia in and out of stadiums”.

    A statement issued on Tuesday added: “As a result, the number of La Liga Integrity Officers present at matches where there is a risk of racist slurs will be increased to maximize the detection and exposure of a type of behavior that has no place in sport.

    “In addition, in stadiums where there is a risk of possible racist behavior in the stands, messages about the fight against and condemnation of racism will be broadcast through the public address system and billboards around the field.

    “The goal of La Liga is zero violence in sport and to achieve this, various training, prevention, detection and reporting methods are carried out every game day, which are then reported to the State Commission to Combat Violence, Racism, Xenophobia and Intolerance in Sport,” and to the prosecutor’s office for hate crimes.

    “In the same way, La Liga condemns and sues as a plaintiff in any criminal process related to violent acts occurring in the field of football. La Liga continues to work with clubs, players, authorities and all parties involved in the sport to ensure there is no place for violent or racist behavior in football.”

    Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said on Monday that after the fourth high-profile incident involving Vinicius, a “zero tolerance” policy for racism should be pursued.

    “This is a problem of society, it should not be, for me it should be zero tolerance,” added Ancelotti. “I don’t think it’s a La Liga problem. This is a common, cultural problem in society. Society is not properly educated.

    “In such an important matter, I would not focus on Vinicius, La Liga or penalties. It’s much more.”

    Vinicius is out of Madrid’s squad for the Copa del Rey round of 16 clash at lower-level Cacereno on Tuesday, and Ancelotti has decided to rest a number of first-team players.

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