The Identities Institute of Brazil (ID_BR) launches this Monday (5) the campaign “Respect Yes-respects our game”. The action summons clubs, fans and athletes to fight the naturalization of sports racism. For this, the creation of protocols to receive the victims and their complaints, more severe punishments in cases of racial discrimination and the construction of an environment of respect “where diversity is celebrated”.
The campaign debut comes after a series of reports of racism in championships such as Libertadores and Brasileirão. Last Sunday, player Miguel Ángel Angña was arrested in a fragrant by the Civil Police on suspicion of racial injury. The case happened during a Serie B match between Operário and America-MG.
Therefore, football was chosen as the first sport to be approached by the campaign.
Institutional director of ID_BR, Tom Mendes states that although football is a national passion, it is common for its idols to be seen in a vulnerability position when it comes to racial discrimination. “And the fight against racism has always happened in a very limited way,” he says.
The non -profit organization works with companies, organizations and governments to develop actions in the areas and data, employability, education and engagement that encourages the search for racial equality.
In addition to the video manifesto published on social networks, the Institute will conduct training Free on football teams. Clubs such as Fortaleza, Athletico Paranaense and Atlético Mineiro have agreed to participate. In the coming weeks, a digital booklet with anti -racist vocabulary will also be released to the public.
One of the campaign’s claim points is the change in penalties to clubs and their fans in cases of racism. “The punishments are always very smooth. Football entities punish more when the team is late for the game than when the player suffers racism on the field. It is a discrimination of the system itself, as if there were permissiveness to do this,” says Mendes.
Palmeiras base player Luighi Hanri Sousa Santos, 18, was the victim of racism during a match against Cerro Porteño. Conmebol punished the team with a fine of $ 50,000 (about $ 290,000), the production of an awareness campaign on the Paraguayan team’s social networks and the absence of audiences in the competition games. It is up to appeal.
Last year, the same $ 50,000 were applied by the organization against Botafogo for delays in a Libertadores match in Colombia. The organization claimed that the club failed to comply with the time for the field and it took a long time to return from the break, which resulted in the delay of the resumption of the game.
Conmebol’s disciplinary code provides for a fine of at least $ 100,000 (approximately 580,000) to clubs whose fans undermine human dignity for reasons such as skin color or sexual orientation.
For Mendes, the absence of black, indigenous and peripheral people in the leadership of football institutions contributes to the maintenance of these cases. Inequal access to opportunities for black boys and girls in the grassroots categories is also addressed by the campaign.
“Another point is the absence of anti -racist education in clubs, from the preparation of technicians, to family members, to know how to deal with cases of racism in the field, especially with young people and children.”
According to him, in addition to improving the player’s health and quality of life, this kind of change can improve their performance on the field and thus achieve the interests of the team itself – how to achieve more wins.
com Karina Matias, Laura Intrieri, Manoella Smith and Victoria Cocolo
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