Police arrest four suspects of hanging doll with Vini Jr’s uniform in bridge

Four people have been detained in Spain as part of the investigation into the doll wearing the uniform of Brazilian striker Vinícius Júnior, Real Madridhanging from a bridge in the Spanish capital at the end of January, as announced by the Police this Tuesday.

The arrests took place two days after the 22-year-old Brazilian star was the target of new racist insults during a match between Spanish Championship against Valencia, which provoked a wave of indignation across the planet.

The four people detained in Madrid are considered allegedly responsible for a “hate crime”, Spanish police said in a statement. Three are “active members of a radical group of fans of a Madrid club”, adds the note.

🚩 These are the images of the detention of the 4 arrested for #hatecrime against the player of #soccer @vinijr

They are 19, 21, 23 and 24 years old. Several were identified during high-stakes matches on tracking devices. @police for the prevention of violence in sport pic.twitter.com/X8jaGrZHRe

– National Police (@police) May 23, 2023

The doll, which had a Vini Júnior uniform, was hung to simulate a hanging on January 26, after Real Madrid’s 3-1 victory against Atletico Madrid, for the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey. Next to the doll was a banner with the phrase “Madrid hates Real”.

After the attack, Real Madrid denounced a “regrettable and repugnant act of racism, xenophobia and hatred” against the Brazilian and stated that it expected the investigation “of all the responsibilities of those who participated in such a despicable act”.

The investigation, based mainly on testimonies, established that the four fans, “identified during matches considered high risk within the mechanisms for preventing violence in sport, were the alleged perpetrators” of the attack, said the Police.