Soccer-Real Madrid file complaint after Vinicius allegedly targeted with racist abuse


FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Champions League - Round of 16 - Second Leg - Real Madrid v RB Leipzig - Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain - March 6, 2024 Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior reacts REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura/File Photo/File Photo

(Reuters) - Real Madrid have filed a complaint with the state prosecutor's office over hate and discrimination offences after alleged racist chanting by Atletico Madrid and Barcelona fans directed at Vinicius Jr, the LaLiga club said on Friday.

On Thursday, Vinicius called on UEFA, Europe's soccer governing body, to punish Atletico for alleged racist chanting ahead of their team's Champions League match against Inter Milan on Wednesday.

A video posted on social media appears to show Atletico fans outside the Metropolitano stadium in Madrid chanting racist abuse targeting the Real Madrid forward.

Real Madrid said the complaint was filed for "racist and hateful abuse" directed at Vinicius near the Olympic Stadium of Montjuic and the Metropolitano stadium in Madrid before Barcelona and Atletico's Champions League matches.

"Real Madrid calls on Prosecutors to request the recordings available from both locations ... in order to identify the perpetrators of the abuse," the club said.

"Real Madrid condemns these violent attacks of racism, discrimination and hate against our player Vinicius Junior, which have sadly been a recurrent and ongoing concern for some time.

"Our club will continue working hard to uphold the values of football and sport as a whole, and will remain steadfast in the fight for a zero-tolerance approach to the types of despicable incidents we have seen on multiple occasions in recent times."

The Real Madrid winger has been the target of racist abuse on a number of occasions, sparking a series of local and international campaigns, including the creation of a special FIFA anti-racism committee.

(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Davis)

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