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STORY: Three Valencia football fans on Monday were sentenced to eight months in prison for hate crimes against Real Madrid player Vinicius Jr.

…and according to the court, it’s the first ever conviction for racist insults in a soccer stadium in Spain.

The events happened at Valencia's Mestalla stadium in May of last year, when racist slurs were hurled at Vinicius, who is Black, during a league match.

The three supporters, who pleaded guilty to the charges, were also banned from entering football stadiums for two years and ordered to pay the costs of the proceedings.

Prosecutor Susana Gisbert responded to the verdict outside the courthouse:

"People should know that this type of act is punishable. It is punishable as a hate crime, because the sentence is for moral integrity with the aggravating factor of hate. And it is also very important that one of the factors taken into account for the suspension of the execution of the sentence is the fact of repentance and a letter of public apology, as well as the fact of not going near not only this stadium, but also stadiums where official matches are held.”

In Spain, prison sentences of less than two years for non-violent crimes rarely require a defendant without previous convictions to serve jail time so the three football fans are likely to remain free unless they commit further offenses.

Their racist actions last year led to an outpouring of support for the Brazilian forward and galvanized a series of local and international campaigns.

This past season, 23-year-old Vinicius helped Real Madrid win the LaLiga title and the Champions League

He was named the Champions League's player of the season and is one of the favorites to win the Ballon d'Or for the world's best player in October.