El Clásico: 3 arrests made over Real Madrid-Barcelona racism

Spanish police have arrested three people in relation to racist insults aimed at Barcelona duo Lamine Yamal and Raphinha during last month’s Clásico at the Bernabéu.

Yamal and Raphinha were both on target in Barça’s 4-0 win over Real Madrid when, toward the end of the match, they received abuse from fans in the stadium.

“Three arrests have been made for racist insults aimed at two footballers during October’s Clásico,” the police confirmed on social media Saturday.

“Those arrested made xenophobic statements that violated the dignity and moral integrity of both players.”

The investigation was launched after LaLiga reported the incident to the police.

“The arrests follow a complaint filed by LaLiga that provided recordings of the incidents and a report from a lip-reading expert to the police,” the league said in a statement Saturday.

“At LaLiga, we continue to fight to end racism inside and outside of football.”

LaLiga’s fight against racism has been increasingly in the spotlight following the repeated abuse of Vinícius Júnior at stadiums across the country.

Speaking this week, the Real Madrid forward said he has “suffered a lot and still suffers” because of the racism he has been subjected to since arriving in the country in 2018.

However, he added that progress has been made in recent months, with the perpetrators increasingly identified.

In June, three Valencia fans were jailed for eight months for racially abusing Vinícius during a LaLiga game in May 2023, in the first verdict of its kind in Spain.

In September, a Spanish court handed a 12-month suspended sentence to a Mallorca supporter who used racists insults against Vinícius and Villarreal‘s Samuel Chukwueze in February 2023.

Last month, Spain’s national police arrested four people responsible for a hate campaign against the Brazil international.

LaLiga president Javier Tebas has called for prison sentences for fans who racially abuse players during matches, telling ESPN in September the league will “take the fight to the very end.”

Vinícius was among the first to condemn the racist insults aimed at Barcelona’s players by fans during the Clásico after the game.

“What happened was terrible and there’s no room for these criminals in our society,” he said. “I know that Madrid and the police will act to identify and punish the guilty.”

It is not the first racism case involving Barça forward Yamal, either, who has emerged as one of the team’s key players since making his debut at age 15 in 2023.

Earlier this year, Movistar pundit Germán “Mono” Burgos was fired for a racist comment he made about the teenager before Barça’s Champions League game against Paris Saint-Germain.