Palmeiras president Leila Mejdalani Pereira said CONMEBOL’s punishment of Cerro Porteno for racial abuse against Palmeiras under-20 player Luighi was too lenient, criticizing the South American governing body’s treatment of Brazilian clubs.
CONMEBOL fined the Paraguayan club $50,000 and banned fans from attending their home games during the Libertadores under-20 tournament, where 18-year-old striker Luighi was left in tears on Thursday when a man in the stands made racist gestures at visiting Palmeiras players.
“It hurts the soul,” Luighi later wrote on Instagram. “Until when? That is the question I hope we won’t have to ask at some point. For now, we keep fighting.”
Pereira said CONMEBOL’s punishment for Cerro was absurd.
“Firstly, I would like to express my indignation at CONMEBOL’s penalty of $50,000 and closed gates,” she told TNT Sports on Monday.
“If you’re a minute late entering the pitch, it’s $100,000. If you light a flare, $78,000. You see how CONMEBOL views the offence of racism. It’s absurd.”
Pereira said Palmeiras and other clubs have signed a letter to FIFA, asking the global governing body to intervene in cases of racism.
“Luighi’s tears hurt … it’s not possible that someone wasn’t moved by that boy’s sadness … the vast majority of Brazilian clubs have suffered this kind of crime,” she said.
Pereira said Brazilian clubs were not treated well by CONMEBOL despite the country accounting for 60% of the governing body’s revenue.
“When the incident happened, I called [CONMEBOL] president Alejandro [Dominguez], but I couldn’t talk,” Pereira added. “After I gave the interview that everyone saw, he called me and told me that he would be very strict with the sanctions, but from what I saw, he wasn’t that strict.
“[And you can see that] because of the sanction that CONMEBOL gave for this incident. I have no doubt that this is an incentive for new cases of racism to occur.
“But I have no doubts about the solidarity we have with all Brazilian clubs, the vast majority of which have already suffered this type of crime in South America, in tournaments organized by CONMEBOL, I have no doubt that this will not stay like this.
“We will take very serious measures against CONMEBOL. It is not with a little note, no, we have to take firm measures.”
Pereira even floated the prospect of Brazilian clubs ditching CONMEBOL and joining up with the North, Central American and Caribbean governing body Concacaf.
“I’ll even throw out an idea … why not think about joining Concacaf?” she said.
“I think that’s the only way they will respect Brazilian football, because Brazilian football isn’t being respected by CONMEBOL.”
Information from Reuters contributed to this report.
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