SAO PAULO : Four women soccer players with River Plate, one of Argentina’s top professional clubs, were released by Brazilian authorities on Friday following their detention last week after allegedly targeting a ball boy with racist slurs.
The four Argentine players were competing in the Ladies Cup – a usually friendly international tournament created to promote women’s soccer. The organisers later said River Plate had been eliminated from the tournament and suspended from participating for two years.
River Plate condemned the players’ alleged gestures and said in a statement the club were taking appropriate disciplinary measures and “will continue working to eradicate this type of conduct”.
Reuters attempted to contact the River Plate players’ lawyer but have not received a response.
Brazilian soccer has for decades dealt with issues of racist behaviour, including past incidents involving players and fans from neighboring Argentina.
Last week in Sao Paulo, police arrested Candela Diaz, Camila Duarte, Juana Cangaro and Milagros Diaz after their match against Brazil’s Gremio. The Brazilian club accused the four players of making racist remarks and gestures.
Sao Paulo state judicial officials ordered the Argentine players be released provided they remain in Brazil until investigations into the incident conclude and present themselves monthly to authorities.
The officials also ordered the players to pay 25,000 reais ($4,038) to compensate the ball boy if the investigation decides they did taunt him with racist slurs.
In recent years, Brazil’s star striker Vinicius Jr has faced racism in Europe, and the player has called on the sport’s authorities, including Spain’s national soccer federation, to do more to punish offenders and prevent future incidents.
($1 = 6.1910 reais)
