Four people have been handed suspended jail sentences by a Madrid Court after being found guilty of a hate crime related to an effigy of Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr, Spains LaLiga said in a statement on Monday.
They were all involved in hanging a banner reading Madrid hates Real and an inflatable black effigy in a replica of the Brazilians No. 20 shirt on a bridge before a Copa del Rey match against Atletico Madrid in January 2023.
According to the ruling, one defendant was sentenced to 15 months in prison for a hate crime and an additional seven months for making threats, having distributed images of the act online.
The other three were sentenced to seven months in prison for hate crimes and seven months for threats.
They will not serve prison time, however, after all four signed a letter of apology to Vinicius, Real Madrid, LaLiga and the Spanish soccer federation RFEF.
