(Reuters) – Palmeiras president Leila Mejdalani Pereira said CONMEBOL’s punishment of Cerro Porteno for racial abuse against Palmeiras U20 player Luighi was too lenient, criticising 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 U20 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 $1,000. If you light a flare, $8,000. 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.
“We have to take firm measures with regard to CONMEBOL, because it’s not possible for Brazil to account for 60% of CONMEBOL’s revenue and for Brazilian clubs to be treated like this,” she said.
“I’ll even throw out an idea… why not think about joining (North, Central American and Caribbean governing body) CONCACAF?
“I think that’s the only way they will respect Brazilian football, because Brazilian football isn’t being respected by CONMEBOL.”
(Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru, Editing by William Maclean)
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