Racism exists in football, and some Atletico Madrid Ultras proved just that before their derby match against Real Madrid on Sunday. The match ended in Atletico’s favor, with Alvaro Morata scoring a brace against his former employer to give the hosts bragging rights in the Spanish capital.
While Atletico Madrid cruised to a 3-1 win over Real Madrid to hand the Los Blancos their first defeat of the season, an incident that occurred before the match dominated the headlines. Some Atletico Madrid Ultras allegedly intimated a young Real Madrid fan for wearing a shirt with Vinicius’ name on the back.
Atletico Ultras accused of targeting a girl in Vinicius’ jersey
The Madrid derby is famous for being action-packed. High-flying tackles, great goals, and a couple of skirmishes—it’s the fiercest Derby in La Liga. However, some fans took it to another level on Sunday by intimidating an eight-year-old girl and her family for wearing a shirt with Vinicius Jr.’s name on the back.
“We were walking around the Civitas Metropolitano Stadium; there was a gathering of the Atletico hooligans, and we stayed to watch it. I have been an Atletico season ticket holder since I was born,” said Silvia, the aunt of the intimated minor.
“They started singing ‘Vikingo, no’, ‘monkey’, ‘black shit’. And at first, we didn’t know it was because of us. I even looked back, thinking they were talking about Vikings outside to some group of kids passing behind us. I would never have imagined that it was because of the girl until a kid came up and hit me on the arm. He said, ‘Get out of here, or we’re going to kill the girl.’ A lot of insults and everything. And then you look up and see many people, a huge crowd of people pointing at the girl, insulting the girl, singing at the girl,” she further explained.
Atletico Madrid under fire for failing to address Ultras’ behavior
According to Marca, La Liga has filed an official report to Spanish authorities after the incident took place. The report includes an alleged intimidation of a young girl wearing a jersey with Vinicius’ name on the back before Atletico’s 3-1 victory over their rivals. The intimidated girl was said to be attending her first soccer game, and the event has created trauma in her.
“She had a terrible anxiety attack. I got her out of there as soon as possible while she covered herself. The first night, she woke up several times thinking they were coming for her,” the aunt revealed.
What do you think of this poor behaviour from the Atletico Ultras? Tell us your opinions in the comments.
