Sevilla have confirmed they’re banning a fan who made racist gestures towards Vinicius Jr. on Saturday, ahead of their midweek clash with Arsenal.
Sevilla took on Real Madrid on Saturday afternoon, while Arsenal were playing against Chelsea, with the two teams set to face each other in the Champions League group stage on Tuesday.
But whilst both games ended in draws, Sevilla’s tie was overshadowed by instances of racial abuse towards Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr.
One picture (above) showed an individual in the Sevilla end making monkey gestures, whilst another video (below) showed a younger supporter repeating the same gesture.
A young fan of Sevilla performing a monkey gesture towards Vinicius Junior. Depressing would be the understatement of the year. https://t.co/Scw1AgZLhq
— Colin Millar (@Millar_Colin) October 21, 2023
To Sevilla’s credit, they were quick to act in the first instance. After the game, they released a statement that they’d identified the fan engaging in “xenophobic and racist behaviour” and proceeded to “expel him from the stadium”.
Sevilla added that they’d reported the supporter to the police authorities, and confirmed that he would be expelled as a member of the club imminently.
The statement concluded that the Spanish club “condemns any racist and xenophobic behaviour, even if it is in isolation”.
Vinicius Jr. responded to the statement to praise Sevilla for their quick response and punishment, before drawing attention to the other racist act by the younger supporter.
“Congratulations to Sevilla for their quick positioning and punishment in yet another sad episode for Spanish football,” Vini Jr. said.
“Unfortunately, I had access to a video of another racist act in this Saturday’s match, this time carried out by a child.
“The face of today’s racist is plastered on websites as on many other occasions. I hope the Spanish authorities do their part and change the legislation once and for all. These people must be criminally punished too.”
Parabéns ao Sevilla pelo rápido posicionamento e pela punição em mais um triste episódio para o futebol espanhol.
Infelizmente, tive acesso a um vídeo com outro ato racista na partida deste sábado, dessa vez praticado por uma criança. Lamento muito que não haja ninguém para… pic.twitter.com/azlZ7ccPNZ
— Vini Jr. (@vinijr) October 21, 2023
Arsenal will play at Sevilla’s home ground on Tuesday, so let’s hope these were indeed ‘isolated’ incidents.