MADRID (AP) 鈥 Vin铆cius J煤nior clenched his right fist and raised it high above his head after scoring at Mestalla Stadium, posing for a moment to make sure everyone noticed.
The symbolic gesture in early March came nearly a year after the Real Madrid forward was on that same field with tears in his eyes after being racially abused by some Valencia fans.
That incident sparked an outpouring of support for the Brazil forward, who is Black, and set off widespread calls for action by Spanish authorities and society in general.
At the time, many saw it as a turning point in the fight against racism in Spanish soccer.
But some 10 months later, Vin铆cius has continued to be subjected to racist abuse in Spain despite the initial uproar that accompanied the incident at Mestalla.
The Brazilian broke down in tears while talking about the insults ahead of Tuesday's international friendly between Spain and Brazil that was originally set up under the theme 鈥淥ne Skin鈥 following the racial abuse aimed at Vin铆cius last year.
鈥淭hings have gotten worse since the first time I denounced what happened to me,鈥 Vin铆cius said. 鈥淏ecause people are not punished, they feel like they can keep saying things about the color of my skin to try to affect how I play. But they could try to do that in other ways, and I wouldn鈥檛 have a problem with that. I just want to play, and I want to be able to go to stadiums without anyone bothering me because of the color of my skin."
The Spain-Brazil game will take place just days after a new wave of racist and hate insults targeted Vin铆cius in matches in Spain.
鈥淲e haven鈥檛 fully advanced,鈥 said Esteban Ibarra, president of the Movement Against Intolerance, Racism and Xenophobia in Spain. 鈥淭here was some response, but it wasn鈥檛 a significant step forward. In the end, if there still is a dominant feeling of impunity, the fans will keep acting the same way as before.鈥
On the same night on March 2 when Vin铆cius gave the Black Power salute at Mestalla, Brazilian media reports said a child in the stadium had called the player a monkey. The Spanish league was looking into a video of the incident, though it wasn鈥檛 clear from the images published online if Vin铆cius was targeted.
A couple of weeks ago, there were reports of racist chants targeting Vin铆cius outside the stadiums of Atletico Madrid and Barcelona before Champions League games that didn鈥檛 even involve Real Madrid.
Vin铆cius retweeted a video that showed a few Atletico fans jumping and chanting 鈥淰in铆cius chimpanzee,鈥 and a day earlier some Barcelona fans allegedly chanted 鈥淒ie, Vin铆cius.鈥
鈥淚 hope you have already thought about their punishment,鈥 Vin铆cius said at the time on X, formerly Twitter, and tagged the Champions League and European soccer governing body UEFA. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a sad reality that happens even in games where I鈥檓 not present!鈥
There were also reported hate chants of 鈥淒ie, Vin铆cius鈥 in Madrid鈥檚 Spanish league match at Osasuna on March 16. Real Madrid called the game鈥檚 referee 鈥渘egligent鈥 for not including the chants in his match report. The club also reported them 鈥 as well as those alleged chants by Atletico and Barcelona fans 鈥 to the prosecutor鈥檚 office for hate crimes.
"We must continue to fight to eradicate racism and it is a daily struggle to prevent players like Vin铆cius or any other from experiencing episodes of intolerance,鈥 Spain defender 脕lex Grimaldo said Sunday.
Some of Vin铆cius' opponents contend his aggressive playing style 鈥 not uncommon for a forward 鈥 and clashes with the opposition have made him a bigger target for fans. Vin铆cius often gets into verbal altercations and more than once was seen responding to fans' provocations from the stands.
There was some movement in the cases against fans accused of insulting Vin铆cius last year, including the four hardcore Atletico fans who allegedly hanged an effigy of the player off a highway bridge in Madrid.
They were taken into custody in the wave of arrests sparked by the incident against Vin铆cius in Mestalla, and prosecutors have sought four-year prison sentences against them.
Other cases against fans who allegedly insulted Vin铆cius and other players are with the courts, but Spain is still waiting for the first actual trial to take place against a fan accused of racial abuse in professional soccer. The case against an Espanyol fan accused of racially insulting Athletic Bilbao forward I帽aki Williams in 2020 was expected last year but has yet to take place.
A man accused of calling Vin铆cius a monkey during a league game in Mallorca last season also was facing the possibility of going to trial. Both the fan and Vin铆cius spoke before a judge last year, and Vin铆cius said he would not accept just an apology.
鈥淚f you start punishing people, they will be afraid and won't act like that anymore, even if you won't change the way they think,鈥 Vin铆cius said. 鈥淏ut if you make people afraid, I think you will reduce the number of insults.鈥
The Spanish government has highlighted the work of a permanent committee set up to fight violence, racism, xenophobia and intolerance in sports. The committee, which includes the Spanish league, authorities and the soccer federation, has previously punished clubs with fines and issued stadium bans, as well as keeping fans from attending matches for long periods and making them pay hefty fines
The Spanish league has been active in denouncing racism to prosecutors.
League president Javier Tebas said La Liga鈥檚 fight against racism 鈥渉as become more visible following the dimension of the incident with Vinicius,鈥 though 鈥渋ntense efforts have been underway for many years.鈥
鈥淭he strategy or actions will never be enough until we eradicate this scourge, but I can guarantee that the fight to end racism and any display of hatred inside and outside our stadiums is an absolute priority for La Liga and the clubs,鈥 Tebas told The Associated Press in an email.
鈥淪ociety in general, and football fans in particular, are increasingly aware that these hateful attitudes are absolutely intolerable, constitute a crime, and have no place in our society,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t is always necessary to continue fighting for the eradication of any act of hatred inside and outside our stadiums because, although they represent a minority, they tarnish the image of the competition, the sport, and the country in general, and cause irreparable harm to the individuals against whom they are committed.鈥
Ibarra said the recurring incidents of hate crimes in soccer can be linked to the clubs鈥 hardcore fans who often believe they are above the law.
鈥淯ltra groups are militants and are very committed groups,鈥 Ibarra said. 鈥淚f the ultra groups are not eradicated, the problem will continue to exist.鈥
Rafael Carlos de Vega, a prosecutor with Spain鈥檚 Attorney General鈥檚 Office, said the failure to punish hardcore fans usually happens because of the difficulties in identifying perpetrators when they act in larger groups, forcing some cases to be shelved.
Vega said things have improved since the incident involving Vin铆cius at Mestalla, and noted that since then there has been a greater involvement of prosecutors who specifically focus on hate crimes.
鈥淭he racist insults, with some exceptions, didn鈥檛 happen as much as before,鈥 he said. 鈥淧eople are now convinced that those who act against someone else because of their race or color will be punished. There has to be awareness in society. And when something does happen, we need to punish those responsible.鈥
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