The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) president has been accused of racism over remarks about Brazilian clubs.
Alejandro Domínguez commented on Palmeiras president Leila Pereira’s concerns regarding the potential move of Brazilian teams to CONCACAF, Idman.biz reports.
Her comments followed the racist abuse suffered by Luigi, an U20 Palmeiras forward, during a Libertadores Youth Cup match against Cerro Porteño.
In response, Domínguez compared Brazilian clubs to Cheetah, the chimpanzee character from Tarzan movies: "That would be like Tarzan without Cheetah, impossible,” Dominguez replied with a laugh.
“I want to apologize. The expression I used is a popular phrase and I never intended to belittle or disqualify anyone,” Dominguez said on Tuesday on his X account.
“The CONMEBOL Libertadores is unthinkable without the participation of clubs from the 10 member countries (…) I reaffirm my commitment to continue working for a fairer, more united and discrimination-free football.”
Dominguez’s comments sparked a backlash and the Brazilian government strongly condemned them, criticising CONMEBOL for its failure to implement effective anti-racism measures.
“The Brazilian government repudiates in the strongest terms the statements made by the President of CONMEBOL Alejandro Dominguez,” a Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement read.
“The statements take place in a context in which CONMEBOL authorities have repeatedly failed to adopt effective measures to prevent and avoid the repetition of acts of racism in matches organised by them.”
Idman.biz
