ビニシウスの人種差別騒動、スペインで７人が逮捕

【マドリードＡＦＰ＝時事】サッカースペイン１部リーグのレアル・マドリードに所属するビニシウス・ジュニオールが、試合中に人種差別的暴言を受けた件をめぐって、同国の警察は２３日、合計７人を逮捕した。（写真は２２－２３スペイン１部リーグ第３５節、バレンシア対レアル・マドリード。客席を指さすレアル・マドリードのビニシウス・ジュニオール〈左〉）
　２１日のバレンシア戦で、ビニシウスが敵地のファンから「サル」と呼ばれて試合が一時中断すると、終了間際にはビニシウスが退場処分を受けた。
　ビニシウスは過去に何度も相手チームのファンから標的にされてきたが、今回の件は母国ブラジルでも抗議の声が上がる国際的な問題になり、スペインサッカーの人種差別対策が疑問視されている。
　警察は、「人種差別的なニュアンスのある侮辱とジェスチャー」をビニシウスに向けた「ヘイトクライムの疑い」で、バレンシアで３人の若者を逮捕した。その後、検察か裁判所に「召喚された場合、出頭することを条件に釈放された」と発表された。
　逮捕者が出たことを認めたバレンシアは、「人種差別と暴力を強く非難する」と繰り返したうえで、差別的行為に関わった人物をスタジアムから「永久追放」すると述べた。
　またマドリードでは、今年１月に「ビニシウス人形」を橋からつるした疑いで４人が逮捕された。ビニシウスの背番号が入ったレアルのユニホームを着た浅黒い肌の色をした人形は、１月２６日のアトレティコ・マドリード戦の前、レアルの練習場近くの橋で首に縄をかけてつるされた。捜査担当者によれば、容疑者のうち３人は「過激なファン集団の現役メンバー」で、サッカー関連の暴力防止に取り組む職員に「リスクが高い」とみなされ、以前から身元を特定されていた。
　一方でスペインサッカー連盟は同日、バレンシアに対して本拠地メスタージャ・スタジアムの観客席一部閉鎖５試合と４万５０００ユーロ（約６７０万円）の罰金を科した。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2023/05/24-17:25）

Spanish police arrested seven people Tuesday over the racial abuse of Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior, as the Brazilian star was spared a ban for his red card against Valencia.
The forward was targeted by Valencia fans on Sunday, sparking an international outcry, and the Spanish club had one stand of their stadium shut for five games by the Spanish football authorities late Tuesday.
Spain's football league, La Liga, has been engulfed in a racism scandal after the 22-year-old forward was subjected to racist taunts during Madrid's 1-0 defeat at Valencia and later sent off.
The player has been taunted by opposition fans since joining Real in 2018 but the latest incident has kicked up a storm over whether Spain is doing enough to stamp out racism in football.
Police on Tuesday arrested three youths in Valencia for insults and gestures with racist overtones towards the player that amounted to an alleged hate crime during Sunday's match.
After their statements were taken, they were later released on condition they appear when summoned by the public prosecutor's office or the courts, a police spokesman told AFP.
Sunday's game was held up for several minutes with the referee saying that shouts of monkey had been directed at Vinicius.
In a statement, Valencia confirmed the arrests, reiterating its strongest condemnation of racism and violence and saying the club was acting against those involved by banning them for life from their stadium.
In Madrid, police arrested another four men suspected of dangling an effigy wearing a Real Madrid shirt with Vinicius' number on it from a bridge earlier this year.
The dark-skinned inflatable dummy was hung by the neck from a bridge near Real Madrid's training ground several hours before a derby clash with Atletico Madrid on January 26.
Above it was a 16-metre banner reading 'Madrid hates Real', police said.
Investigators said three of the suspects were active members of a group of radical fans who had previously been identified as high risk by agents working to prevent football violence.
- Red card declared void -
After the abuse in Sunday's match, Vinicius was sent off for hitting Valencia's Hugo Duro after the referee watched VAR footage of a brawl between the two teams.
But Spain's refereeing committee on Tuesday sidelined official Ignacio Iglesias Villanueva -- who was in charge of VAR for the match -- for his part in awarding Vinicius a red card.
During the match, the VAR footage he showed the referee did not include the part where Duro grabbed the Brazilian around the neck before the incident -- also a red card offence.
(The red card) was determined by the omission of the VAR room of the entire play, without showing the aggression carried out seconds before, said the Competition Committee in a statement.
Therefore the expulsion should be declared null and void.
The Spanish football federation also announced the decision to shut the Mario Kempes stand at Mestalla -- where Vinicius singled out a fan who had been abusing him -- for five matches, and fined the club 45,000 euros ($48,000).
Valencia protested the decision in a statement early Wednesday morning.
We consider that penalising and depriving all the fans who were not involved in these regrettable incidents of being able to watch their team is a totally disproportionate, unjust and unprecedented measure against which we will fight, said Los Che.
- 'Fighting this behaviour' -
Spain is fighting this behaviour, we condemn it and we are working to eradicate it, government spokeswoman Isabel Rodriguez said Tuesday just hours after Brazil protested to the Spanish ambassador.
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said Sunday's incident showed FIFA's racism protocol in football was obsolete.
In mobile footage of the crowds awaiting the arrival of Real Madrid's bus broadcast on Tuesday by LaSexta television, multiple voices can be heard singing abusive chants and making offensive sounds.
It was, said Ancelotti, a moment to take drastic measures to tackle the issue.
Meanwhile, La Liga said it would request more sanctioning power to act against fans for violent, racist or xenophobic behaviour, saying it felt powerless.
Giving La Liga greater sanctioning capacity would be an effective tool to boost the fight against racism in sport, it said in a statement, indicating it wanted the power to impose stadium closures, to ban fans for instigating offences or to impose fines.
There is growing anger in Brazil over the incident, with the lights on the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro turned off for an hour in solidarity with the player.