The TJ-SP (São Paulo Court of Justice) granted provisional release this Friday (27) to the four River Plate football players who had been detained since the previous Friday (20). They were arrested in the act during the Argentine team’s match against Grêmio, at the Canindé stadium, in São Paulo, accused of racial insult.
In his decision, judge Fernando Oliveira Camargo determined that Candela Agustina Díaz, Milagros Naiquen Díaz, Camila Ayelen Duarte and Juana Cangaro must pay R$25,000 to the man identified as the victim, ball boy Kayque Rodrigues, within five days. They also cannot leave Brazil.
The episode that caused the arrest occurred when Maria, from Grêmio, tied the game with River, valid for the Ladies Cup, 38 minutes into the first half. A huge disturbance ensued, and at least one of the players from the Buenos Aires team made racist gestures towards the ball boy, as shown in the images. The Brazilian women on the field also said they had been the target of racist insults.
The match was ended prematurely, with multiple expulsions and elimination of River, who was then suspended from the competition for two years. Grêmio and River itself published notes repudiating the discriminatory gestures, and the day after the confrontation the arrest in flagrante delicto of the four Argentine women was converted into provisional, now revoked.
The defense lawyers said, in a note, that “this is not the time to examine the merits of the accusations, however, equally, the arrest previously ordered could not continue, given the absence of reasons to support it”. The legal team, finally, pointed out that, “fortunately, the prison was revoked today, freed, [as atletas] will await the outcome of the police investigation.”
