Vinicius Junior highlights racist gesture made by 'child', praises Sevilla for ejecting fan

Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior said he saw racist abuse by a “child” during his team’s 1-1 draw at Sevilla on Saturday in La Liga.

Sevilla expelled a supporter for “racist and xenophobic behaviour”, the club said in a statement, with Vinicius thanking them for their quick action, as well as highlighting another incident.

Spanish newspaper Marca ran photographs of a man appearing to make monkey gestures in the direction of the Brazil winger after he clashed with Sevilla goalkeeper Orjan Nyland.

Vinicius shared the same picture on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, and said in addition, he had seen a video of a child making a racist gesture.

“Congratulations to Sevilla for their quick positioning (on the incident) and punishment in yet another sad episode for Spanish football,” wrote Vinicius.

“Unfortunately, I had access to a video of another racist gesture in Saturday’s match, this time carried out by a child.

“I am very sorry there is no-one to educate you. I invest, and I invest a lot, in education in Brazil to help form citizens with different attitudes to these.”

A video circulating on social media appears to show a teenage girl making a monkey gesture at Vinicius.

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

The Brazilian winger has been the victim of racist abuse on various occasions during his time in Spain, although often no action has been taken by the law.

Vinicius testified before a Spanish court on October 5 by videoconference as part of an investigation into alleged abuse he suffered at Valencia in May.

The winger stopped the game at the Mestalla Stadium to face off with a fan he believed was abusing him.

“I hope the Spanish authorities do their part and change the legislation once and for all,” continued Vinicius on X.

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

“These people must be criminally punished too. It would be a great first step in preparing for the 2030 World Cup. I’m available to help.

“Sorry to seem repetitive, but this is isolated episode number 19, and counting.”