Dutch soccer fans given prison term and fined 1,500 euros for humiliating Roma women in Madrid

[Jean-s]

Four men charged with hate crimes over an incident that took place in Madrid in 2016 accepted a three-month prison term and will pay €1,500 in damages to each of the women they humiliated as they partied ahead of a Champions League soccer match in the Spanish capital.

All four were fans of the Dutch club PSV Eindhoven, and had traveled to Madrid to watch their team play against Atlético de Madrid on March 15, 2016. On Wednesday, a Madrid court tried them for humiliating four Roma women who were begging in Plaza Mayor.

A video made by two students at the UAM-EL PAÍS journalism school showed the women picking up coins that had been thrown onto the ground by the Eindhoven fans, and being goaded into doing push-ups in exchange for money.
Racism in Spain: Dutch soccer fans told to pay €1,500 to Roma women they humiliated in Madrid | News | EL PAIS in English



It took four years for these Dutch fans to be brought to justice but they are not laughing now.

 

[Higgins86]

Re: Dutch soccer fans given prison term and fined €1,500 for humiliating Roma women in Madrid

While I condemn their disgusting behavior 3 months seems like overkill.

 

[Jean-s]

Re: Dutch soccer fans given prison term and fined €1,500 for humiliating Roma women in Madrid

While I condemn their disgusting behavior 3 months seems like overkill.

Undoubtedly, they would not have received jail time in England. They are young and will put it behind them as a lesson well deserved. Let's face it, soccer hooliganism and racism needs to be eliminated.

 

[RabidAlpaca]

Re: Dutch soccer fans given prison term and fined €1,500 for humiliating Roma women in Madrid

While it's not excusable behavior, I'm glad being an asshole isn't illegal in the US. Jail time for mocking someone is totally absurd.

 

[Higgins86]

Re: Dutch soccer fans given prison term and fined €1,500 for humiliating Roma women in Madrid

While it's not excusable behavior, I'm glad being an asshole isn't illegal in the US. Jail time for mocking someone is totally absurd.

Yeh agreed and honestly there is no evidence its racially motivated. I have seen fellow football fans "humiliate" and mock people for years especially after a few drinks.

 

[PoS]

Re: Dutch soccer fans given prison term and fined €1,500 for humiliating Roma women in Madrid

Undoubtedly, they would not have received jail time in England.

Hey, Brits have been arrested for just trolling on the internet. That kind of stuff is serious business in the UK.

 

[OlNate]

Re: Dutch soccer fans given prison term and fined €1,500 for humiliating Roma women in Madrid

While it's not excusable behavior, I'm glad being an asshole isn't illegal in the US. Jail time for mocking someone is totally absurd.

Tough one... but I'd be easily won over if punching an asshole in the mouth for being an asshole didn't result in jail time either...

 

[swing_voter]

Re: Dutch soccer fans given prison term and fined €1,500 for humiliating Roma women in Madrid

Everyone is racist against gypsies over there.


I can remember being drunk in Hiedleburg watching fireworks. I looked down and this gypsy girl had her hand in my pocket, trying to get my wallet out.


I said, "what are you? a ****ing cliche?"

I thought that was very funny at the time.

 

[PoS]

Re: Dutch soccer fans given prison term and fined €1,500 for humiliating Roma women in Madrid

Everyone is racist against gypsies over there.


I can remember being drunk in Hiedleburg watching fireworks. I looked down and this gypsy girl had her hand in my pocket, trying to get my wallet out.


I said, "what are you? a ****ing cliche?"

I thought that was very funny at the time.

When I was in Europe gypsies have come up to me asking for money, especially in train stations, but other ethnicities have done it to me also.

 

[Jean-s]

Re: Dutch soccer fans given prison term and fined €1,500 for humiliating Roma women in Madrid

Yeh agreed and honestly there is no evidence its racially motivated. I have seen fellow football fans "humiliate" and mock people for years especially after a few drinks.

Oh you have, have you? So have the rest of us which is precisely why jail time is necessary.

 

[Higgins86]

Re: Dutch soccer fans given prison term and fined €1,500 for humiliating Roma women in Madrid

Oh you have, have you? So have the rest of us which is precisely why jail time is necessary.

As stated above you can't just put people in prison for acting like tossers. Now if they have sought these women out, harassed them and racially abused them it would be a different story but that isn't what happened.

 

[Jean-s]

Re: Dutch soccer fans given prison term and fined €1,500 for humiliating Roma women in Madrid

As stated above you can't just put people in prison for acting like tossers. Now if they have sought these women out, harassed them and racially abused them it would be a different story but that isn't what happened.

They mocked a group of poor women who happened to be Roma. That is illegal in Spain. It is a hate crime here. That the English and Americans tolerate this is up to them.

 

[Higgins86]

Re: Dutch soccer fans given prison term and fined €1,500 for humiliating Roma women in Madrid

They mocked a group of poor women who happened to be Roma. That is illegal in Spain. It is a hate crime here. That the English and Americans tolerate this is up to them.

But they didn't go looking for them. The women approached them, they were heavily intoxicated and acted like pricks but it wasn't race related. As for it being illegal in Spain I don't remember the Spanish authorities locking up the thousands of fans who made monkey noises at England players when we played you a few years back. Nor do I remember them locking up the Spanish fan at the F1 who wore black face and mocked Lewis Hamilton.....

 

[Jean-s]

Re: Dutch soccer fans given prison term and fined €1,500 for humiliating Roma women in Madrid

But they didn't go looking for them. The women approached them, they were heavily intoxicated and acted like pricks but it wasn't race related. As for it being illegal in Spain I don't remember the Spanish authorities locking up the thousands of fans who made monkey noises at England players when we played you a few years back. Nor do I remember them locking up the Spanish fan at the F1 who wore black face and mocked Lewis Hamilton.....

It was race related in the sense that the women were recognizably Roma but even if you do not accept the racial connotation, humiliating anyone is a hate crime. It is illegal and not merely funning. I contend that lectures to hooligans and yobs will not fix them. They need a spell behind bars and their fellow travelers and apologists need to see this.