Palmeiras President Leila Mejdalani Pereira Chastises CONMEBOL For ‘Absurd’ Fine Levied For Acts Of Racism During Game

"You see how CONMEBOL views the offence of racism. It's absurd."

The fans of an opposing team racially abused an 18-year-old soccer player. After CONMEBOL, the governing body of the sport (football in South America), fined the Paraguayan club $50,000, Palmeiras president Leila Mejdalani Pereira blasted the organization, saying the punishment was too lenient for the act of blatant racism.

According to ESPN, striker Luighi spoke about the racial abuse he and his team suffered at a recent game against Cerro Porteno. A fan made racist gestures toward the players of the Palmeiras club. Luighi broke down in tears when describing the monkey sounds coming from the opposing team and fans.

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Luighi made a statement on his Instagram account regarding the incident.

“It hurts in the soul. And it’s the same pain that all Blacks have felt throughout history, because things evolve, but they are never 100% resolved. Today’s episode leaves scars and needs to be dealt with as it is: a crime. Until when? It’s a question that I hope won’t need to be asked at some point. For now, we keep fighting ✊🏿”

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CONMEBOL also banned the fans from attending future home games during the Libertadores under-20 tournament.

The punishment for Cerro Porteno did not sit well with Pereira.

She criticized the organization for how they meted out larger fines for what she deems as lighter offenses.

“Firstly, I would like to express my indignation at CONMEBOL’s penalty of $50,000 and closed gates,” she expressed to TNT Sports. “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.”

She stated that she and other clubs had forwarded a letter to FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), asking the global governing body to intervene in cases of racism. After the incident, she said she spoke to CONMEBOL president Alejandro Dominguez, who assured her that the punishment would be strict, but she disagreed with his level of strictness.

“When the incident happened, I called President Alejandro, but I couldn’t talk,” Pereira said. “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.”

Pereira also threatened to remove the team from CONMEBOL and join with the larger governing body of the sport, Concacaf, which has teams in North America, Central America, and the Caribean.

“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.”