SEVILLE – Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr said that he saw racist abuse by a “child” during his team’s 1-1 draw at Sevilla in their Spanish La Liga clash on Saturday.

The home side have expelled a supporter for “racist and xenophobic behaviour”, the club said in a statement, with the 23-year-old thanking them for their quick action, as well as highlighting another incident.

Spanish newspaper Marca ran photographs of a man appearing to make monkey gestures in the direction of the Brazil winger after he clashed with Sevilla goalkeeper Orjan Nyland.

Vinicius shared the same picture on social media platform X and said that in addition, he had seen a video of a child making a racist gesture.

“Congratulations to Sevilla for their quick positioning (on the incident) and punishment in yet another sad episode for Spanish football,” he wrote.

“Unfortunately, I had access to a video of another racist gesture in Saturday’s match, this time carried out by a child.

“I am very sorry there is no one to educate you. I invest, and I invest a lot, in education in Brazil to help form citizens with different attitudes to these.”

A video circulating on social media appears to show a teenage girl also making a monkey gesture at Vinicius, who joined Real from Flamengo in July 2018.

Sevilla added that they are willing to collaborate with the authorities to “eradicate these attitudes, which do not represent a fan like that of Sevilla”.

Vinicius has been the victim of racist abuse on various occasions during his time in Spain, although often no action has been taken by the law.

The Brazilian testified before a Spanish court on Oct 5 by video conference as part of an investigation into alleged abuse he suffered at Valencia in May.

The winger stopped the game at the Mestalla Stadium to face off with a fan he believed was abusing him.

“I hope the Spanish authorities do their part and change the legislation once and for all,” continued Vinicius on X.

“These people must be criminally punished too. It would be a great first step in preparing for the 2030 World Cup (to be held in Spain, Portugal and Morocco). I’m available to help.

“Sorry to seem repetitive, but this is isolated episode No. 19, and counting.”

In response to the incident, La Liga said: “There’s no place for racist or hateful behaviour in sport.

“La Liga vehemently condemns any racist acts and will continue working to eradicate this inexcusable behaviour from our sport.” AFP