The Investigative Court No. 10 of Valencia ruled against the three individuals who directed racist remarks against Real Madrid forward Vinicius Júnior during a match at the Mestalla Stadium in Valencia, last year.

The court on Monday (June 10), found the three people guilty of a crime against the moral integrity of Vinicius Júnior, aggravated by their racist motivations.

Each defendant has been sentenced to eight months in prison and banned from entering football stadiums for two years.

The three defendants have accepted their criminal responsibility and issued a letter of apology to Júnior, Real Madrid CF, and those offended by their actions.

Júnior has been repeatedly racially attacked over the past two years with previous outcomes resulting in little more than fines and match bans.

Last year, four men were fined and banned from sports venues for two years after hanging a banner reading “Madrid hates Real” and an inflatable black effigy in a replica of Vinicius’ No. 20 shirt on a bridge near Real’s facilities.

Júnior has also been the face of anti-racism movements in FIFA since 2023, after being selected by FIFA president Gianni Infantino to lead a special player-composed anti-racism committee.

This is the first conviction for acts of this nature handed down by the criminal court in Spain.

In a message on his social media page Júnior said, “Many asked me to ignore it, many others said that my fight was in vain and that I should just “play football”. But, as I’ve always said, I’m not a victim of racism. I am a tormentor of racists.”

He continued, “This first criminal conviction in the history of Spain is not for me. It’s for all black people. May other racists be afraid, ashamed and hide in the shadows. Otherwise, I’ll be here to collect. Thank you to La Liga and Real Madrid for helping with this historic conviction. More to come…(sic)”