Ahead of the 1–2 loss against city rivals Real Madrid, sections of Atlético's supporters directed racist abuse at Real star Vinícius Júnior outside the match arena.
"You are a monkey, Vinícius, you are a monkey," chanted the supporters, according to an audio recording from radio station Cope, which said the group of supporters included around a hundred people.
However, it took two days for Atlético Madrid to distance themselves from the chant, something that prompted the Spanish Prime Minister, also an Atlético supporter, to react.
- I expected a strong stance from the club regarding this kind of behavior, that's what I demand from my club, Pedro Sánchez told Politico.
"Zero tolerance against racism"
Now, however, Atlético has distanced itself from both the chant and those who sang it.
“At Atlético Madrid we have zero tolerance for racism, our commitment to the fight against this social scourge is wholehearted and we will not stop until we eliminate it.
Therefore, we have contacted the authorities and offered to cooperate fully in the investigation of the events that occurred outside the arena and demand the identification of the people who participated in order to be able to suspend those who are members of the club, they write on their website.
The background to the chant is believed to be a statement from Pedro Bravo, head of the Spanish Football Agents' Confederation, last Thursday.
In a TV interview, Bravo said that Vinícius Júnior needs to stop "behaving like a monkey" when scoring goals.
After the incident, Bravo apologized and claimed that the comment was not meant to be racist.
The phrase is used in Spanish to describe someone who behaves like a jerk.