Infantino pleased with conviction after ‘racist abuse’ of Vinicius

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has described as ‘a positive step’ the sentencing of fans to eight months in prison and a two-year ban from football stadiums for having uttered racist insults at Valencia's Mestalla stadium against Real Madrid's Brazilian player Vinicius Jr.

"I am pleased to see the firm action and sentence taken by the Spanish authorities in relation to the racist abuse directed at Vinicius Jr. in a Spanish La Liga match in May 2023. This is a positive step," Infantino said on his Instagram account.

The FIFA president adds that as he reiterated "clearly at the recent FIFA Congress in Bangkok", it is no longer "acceptable what is happening in the stadiums and on the pitch".

"Our message to people anywhere in the world who still behave in a racist way when they are dealing with football is clear: we don't want you. These people have to be excluded, they are not part of our community and not part of football," he added.

According to Infantino, this ruling "illustrates one of FIFA's five pillars of action: criminal cases". ‘We, united as world football, will push for racism to be recognised as a criminal offence in all countries and, as seen today in Spain, when a crime occurs, we will push for it to be treated with the severity it deserves,’ he said.