The newspaper ‘El Espanol’ reports that four Atletico fans have been arrested for promoting a hate campaign on social networks to insult Vinicius Junior in the Riyadh Metropolitano derby. Those arrested are in their twenties and carried out initiatives such as going to the ‘Colchonero’ stadium wearing masks so that the cameras could not read the lips of the spectators in the event of uttering racist insults.
In the days leading up to the derby between Atletico and Real Madrid on 29th September at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano, some Twitter users launched a hate campaign against Vinicius Junior. The ‘influencers’ invited ‘Colchoneros’ fans to come to their seats wearing masks so that their lips could not be read if they uttered racist insults against Carlo Ancelotti’s player.
On Thursday morning, the newspaper ‘El Espanol’ reports that four of the instigators of this initiative have been arrested. The men are aged between 20 and 26 and their activity on social networks has been monitored following a complaint from La Liga. The league’s president, Javier Tebas, recently warned that his institution is on the lookout for disrespect towards the ‘Merengue’ that even he is not aware of.
Those under investigation were arrested on 14th and 15th October, according to the newspaper report mentioned in the previous paragraph. It is not ruled out that there will be more interventions to bring potential defendants to justice, as the investigations are still underway and, consequently, new messages may appear on the internet that may trigger the action of the agents.
The match at the Metropolitano, in strictly sporting terms, ended in a 1-1 draw thanks to a goal by Angel Correa in stoppage time. There were moments of great tension to the point that the referee ordered the match to be stopped due to a series of objects being thrown at Thibaut Courtois, a Real Madrid goalkeeper with a background at Atletico. The ‘cClchoneros’ players themselves spoke to the fans to appease them, although they ended up sanctioned anyway.
