Spain: LaLiga calls for more power to punish those guilty of racist abuse

"LaLiga is to request more sanctioning powers, with the aim of being more agile and effective in the fight against violence, racism, xenophobia, and intolerance in sport, where LaLiga has been leading the identification and reporting of such behaviour in football stadiums for years, but the organisation feels powerless when observing how its reporting ends," announced the Spanish League on 23/05/2023.

LaLiga, whose role is limited by law to identifying and reporting racist or violent behaviour at matches, wants its powers extended to decide on:
• "The total or partial closure of stadiums
• Banning fans who are identified as instigators of such incidents
• The imposition of financial penalties."

This announcement comes two days after Real Madrid CF player Vinícius Junior (BRA) was once again the victim of racist abuse during a LaLiga Santander match, this time during the Madrid club's defeat by Valencia CF (0-1, Matchday 35 of the 2022-23 season) at the Estadio de Mestalla on 21/05/2023. This new episode of racism from the stands provoked numerous reactions in Spain and beyond. In…