When Racism Costs €15,000: A Brooklyn Writer Reflects on Real Madrid’s Fan Violence in the Champions League

The Chant That Wasn’t Just a Goal

I sat in the stands at Santiago Bernabéu once—not as a fan, but as someone who noticed the silence between chants. It was 2023. Real Madrid vs Arsenal. 3-0 on the scoreboard. But the real score? The crowd sang something that didn’t belong to football.

They sang songs older than victory.

UEFA fined them €15,000.

It wasn’t punishment. It was an autopsy.

The Weight of Silence

I grew up in Crown Heights—where your neighbor’s music might be your anthem or your protest. In Brooklyn, we don’t chant just to win. We chant because we’re afraid to be unheard.

When UEFA banned away ticket sales for future matches? They weren’t protecting the stadium—they were protecting their own conscience.

This is why I write: not for clicks, but because someone needs to remember what happens when joy is silenced.

The Second Penalty Isn’t About Football

Last year? Same scene. Same chants under same floodlights.

Real Madrid got fined again—not for violence—but for failing to listen.

I watched boys with half-smiles watch men sing in Spanish while children cried behind me—with no one stepping forward.

The game doesn’t end when the whistle blows. It ends when we stop asking: Who gets to sing? Who gets to stay silent? Who gets counted?