Spanish police have arrested four people for hate crimes. They are accused of hanging a brown doll with the jersey of Brazilian national and Real Madrid player Vinicius from a bridge in Madrid.

According to media reports, the arrested are fans of the city rival Atlético Madrid. The doll was discovered shortly before a city derby at the end of January. At that time, a large banner with the inscription “Madrid hates Real” was attached to the railing of the bridge.

Only last Sunday, the 22-year-old was insulted by spectators in an away match at Valencia. Vinicius was called a “monkey”, among other things, and in injury time he was shown the red card after a scuffle between players of the two clubs.

The striker then formulated serious accusations against the Spanish league via Twitter, “Racism is normal in LaLiga,” Vinicius wrote. LaLiga president Javier Tebas then wrote of defamation.

The Spanish Football Federation has since filed charges, with the federation’s president commenting on the racist insults against the player.

“If just one fan, one malicious person or group insults someone because of their gender, skin colour or religion, then we have a serious problem.”

Luis Rubiales, President of the Spanish Football Federation.

The recent racist incidents in Spanish football have attracted international attention – Brazilian President Lula da Silva voiced his support, and in Rio de Janeiro the statue of Christ remained in the dark in protest.