Vinicius Junior Praises Sevilla for Ejecting fan for Racist Abuse

Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior praised Sevilla for quickly ejecting a home supporter for ‘xenophobic and racist behaviour’ and handing them over to authorities during the two clubs’ 1-1 draw on Saturday.

Brazil international Vinicius has been targeted with racist abuse at multiple stadiums in La Liga throughout his time in Spain and footage emerged from the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium showing a man and a younger fan making racist monkey gestures towards him in the 86th minute.

Sevilla confirmed after full-time a fan had been ejected from the ground and will face disciplinary action from the club.

A statement reads: “Sevilla FC would like to communicate that, after detecting xenophobic and racist behaviour, a member of the public was identified, ejected from the stadium and handed over to legal authorities. The individual will also be subject to the club’s vigorous internal disciplinary protocols and have their membership revoked.

“Sevilla FC condemns all racist and xenophobic behaviour and will work closely with the authorities to ensure that action is taken accordingly. This behaviour does not belong at Sevilla FC.”

Earlier this year, seven people were fined and given stadium bans for racially abusing Vinicius. Spanish football’s response to the winger’s reporting of racism in La Liga was criticised, with president Javier Tebas hitting out at Vinicius initially.

In a statement on social media, Vinicius also said he had seen a video of a young fan racially abusing him.