Argentina’s Independiente apologise for fan racism
Rio de Janeiro, Dec 9 (IANS) Argentine football club Independiente has issued an apology for racist behavior by their fans during a match against Brazil’s Flamengo.
A video published on social media shows two Independiente supporters imitating a monkey while verbally abusing visiting fans during the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana final at Estadio Libertadores in greater Buenos Aires on Wednesday, reports Xinhua news agency.
“We repudiate all racist acts and are committed to investigating the incident so that the perpetrators are duly punished,” Independiente said in a statement.
Independiente came from behind to win the fixture 2-1. The decisive second leg will be played at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday.
It is the latest in a series of racist incidents to tarnish South American football in recent years.
After the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, the country’s then-president Dilma Rousseff described racism in the sport as a “plague”.
In 2015, former Brazil international winger Michel Bastos took a fan to court after being called a monkey on Instagram.
