Seven individuals have been apprehended by the police on Tuesday in connection with separate racist incidents involving football player Vinicius Jr. The incidents prompted Spain’s main soccer league to call for changes in Spanish law, enabling them to take action against racism within stadiums.

One incident that triggered a hate crime investigation involved an inflatable effigy wearing Vinicius Jr’s No. 20 jersey, which was hung from a bridge near Real Madrid’s training ground. Accompanying the effigy was a 16-meter red and white banner displaying the words “Madrid hates Real,” representing the colors of rival team Atletico Madrid. Follow your favourite La Liga team with attractive football betting odds from Gclub.

In Valencia, three men were arrested for engaging in racist behavior during a match between Valencia and Real Madrid, as confirmed by the police on Twitter.

In Madrid, four men were also arrested, three of whom were identified as members of a “radical group of fans of a Madrid club” previously categorized as “high risk” due to their involvement in violence during games.

These arrests followed a complaint filed by Real Madrid, leading the football federation chief, Luis Rubiales, to acknowledge the existence of a racism problem within Spanish soccer.

After enduring racial slurs during a Spanish league match on Sunday, Vinicius Jr expressed his dismay through a social media post, describing the racist abuse as “inhuman” and calling on sponsors and broadcasters to hold LaLiga accountable.

LaLiga, under mounting pressure, expressed its frustration in a statement, stating that it felt “impotent” in addressing the issue due to the limitations imposed by Spanish legislation, which restrict its actions to merely identifying and reporting racist incidents.

LaLiga highlighted several instances of racism against Black players, including nine involving Vinicius Jr, which did not lead to trials due to insufficient evidence. The league called for a modification of the law to empower them to take more decisive measures.

Vinicius Jr has expressed his frustration with LaLiga’s perceived lack of pressure on the Spanish football federation, which possesses the authority to impose stadium closures and bans. However, sources close to the player have indicated that the federation has not utilized this power effectively.

According to the current protocol, the federation can cancel a match if racist insults persist even after a 10-minute interruption, during which the game is halted and the crowd is warned. However, this measure has not been implemented in any match in Spain thus far. Get all the latest updates from the La Liga only on Gclub Sports.