Conmebol issued a statement in the early hours of this Friday against the racist insults suffered by US athletes on social media after the 2-1 defeat to Panama, at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, in the second round of the Copa América group stage. .
Striker Folarin Balogun, who scored the American goal, was one of the targets. The 22-year-old athlete posted on his Instagram some of the messages he received, in which they called him a monkey and hurled a few other insults.
In addition to him, according to the local press, Timothy Weah, who was sent off in the 18th minute of the first half, and Chris Richards also received racist insults on their social networks.
As a result, Conmebol issued a statement about the case and reinforced that fighting racism is an important policy for the organization. Check out the full statement:
“In light of the case of racism highlighted on social media after the CONMEBOL Copa América 2024™ match between Panama and the United States, the South American Football Confederation reinforces its commitment against acts of racism.
It has been and will continue to be CONMEBOL’s most important policy in defense of the values of a fair and inclusive society, which is why we implement initiatives such as ENOUGH RACISM! who seek to raise awareness and educate fans and protagonists on the field of play about the scourge that unfortunately still exists in football.
Our organization is constantly working to develop a new culture that eradicates expressions of racism, offensive content on social media and all types of violence or discrimination surrounding our football. We condemn, everywhere and on all occasions, attitudes of intolerance hidden behind accounts on social platforms in any form of expression.
This CONMEBOL Copa América 2024™ is the biggest and most challenging continental tournament in our history and, therefore, today more than ever we will raise our flag against all types of racist expression.”
Announcement. pic.twitter.com/w9JNSZUFlo
— CONMEBOL Copa América™ POR 🇧🇷 (@copaamerica_POR) June 28, 2024
With the negative score, the home team lost the chance to qualify in advance for the quarter-finals of the Copa América. The team remains with three points in second place and needs to beat leader Uruguay in the last round, so as not to depend on other results.
The duel between the national teams will be held next Monday, at 10pm (Brasília time), at Arrowhead Stadium.
Source: Gazetaesportiva
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