Racism: TJ-SP grants provisional freedom to River Plate athletes

The Court of Justice of São Paulo (TJ-SP) granted provisional freedom this Friday (27) to four players from the River Plate women’s team, arrested in the act for racial insults during a game against Grêmio, in São Paulo, in the last Friday (20). According to the decision of judge Fernando Oliveira Camargo, athletes Camila Duarte Juana Cángaro, Candela Díaz and Milagros Díaz will have to comply with precautionary measures such as appearing in court monthly to justify their activities. They also cannot change their address without prior communication to the TJ-SP. The magistrate also ordered a deposit in the amount of R$25,000, within a maximum period of five days, to guarantee possible compensation in favor of the victim, under penalty of revocation of provisional release.

The four players from the Argentine team were detained a week ago, after widespread confusion in the first half of the game against Grêmio in the Ladies Cup, a women’s football tournament, at the Canindé Stadium, in the capital of São Paulo. The commotion began after Grêmio tied the game 1-1. At the time, midfielder Candela Díaz was caught imitating a monkey towards the ball boy. The Grêmio players reacted to the insults of their opponents and there was an argument. Six River Plate athletes were expelled from the field and the match was ended. After the incident, River Plate was excluded from the competition and the next two editions of the tournament.

Grêmio registered a police report at the 6th police station, and the four Argentine players involved in the riot were arrested in the act, accused of racist insults. On Saturday (21), the prisons were converted into preventive ones and the players from the Argentine team were sent to the Carandiru Penitentiary, where they spent Christmas, as their request for habeas corpus was denied last Tuesday (24).