A woman was arrested on Sunday (19) on suspicion of making racist slurs against an underage player during a match between Manthiqueira and Corinthians, for the Campeonato Paulista under-12 – players with a maximum of 12 years of age.
Cases of racism and other insults from fans directed at players in youth-category matches have been recurrent in the state of São Paulo in recent months, with actions by the FPF (São Paulo Football Federation) to try to curb the practices.
The case this time happened during second-half stoppage time, in a game at the Estádio Municipal Professor Dario Rodrigues Leite, in Guaratinguetá.
Referee Guilherme Drbochlaw reported in the summary that he activated the anti-racism protocol after a Manthiqueira athlete sat down on the pitch and, “in tears”, informed the refereeing team of the insult of the visiting team’s fan: “Black, son of a bitch, without a family, he’s going to get screwed”, the fan reportedly said, as reported by the referee in the summary, based on the complaint of the athlete.
The Military Police were called and the woman was identified and arrested, before being taken to the Lorena public jail.
“After the incident, the aforementioned athlete did not continue in the match due to his emotional state”, informed Drbochlaw.
According to the referee, a Corinthians employee had already addressed the fans to ask for moderation in the demonstrations, after Manthiqueira athletes reported bad behavior from the stands during the technical stoppage in the second half.
Between the end of August and the beginning of September, the FPF (São Paulo Football Federation) even banned the presence of the public during two rounds of the Paulista under-11.
The measure, of an educational nature, was taken due to the inappropriate behavior of the fans in multiple games. The reported cases included insults against boys — with racial insults and homophobia —, fights and threats.
At the end of September, the FPF also released a video against parents’ bad behavior during matches, with reports from young athletes. “It’s not cool to curse a child. I was sad. I even cried,” says one of them.
“This case does not surprise us, because we have already been monitoring cases of prejudice and intolerance in youth games. But it scares us, because we are talking about boys and girls in training”, said Marcelo Carvalho, executive director of the Observatory of Racial Discrimination in Football.
A survey by the Observatory indicates that, in 2024, around 110 reports of cases of racism were identified — there is no differentiation between grassroots, professional or amateur games. In 2023, there were 136 complaints.
According to Carvalho, punishments are important measures, but insufficient to put an end to prejudiced practices in stadiums.
He stated that there is a need for greater involvement from the clubs themselves, with educational and awareness-raising actions among the athletes’ parents, who are the ones who are most likely to be present in the stands at youth games.
“If nothing is done, the boys who hear these insults today could be repeating them tomorrow,” added the director of the Observatory.
The FPF expressed “deep indignation and outrage at yet another act of racism.”
“The FPF reinforces its repudiation of any and all racist acts and reaffirms that Futebol Paulista does not tolerate the participation of racists in its competitions. It is even more shocking that, in this case, it is an act against a child who is just playing football. The FPF will remain vigilant and active so that no person, much less children, are targets of crimes like this,” the federation said in a statement.
Manthiquera also condemned the supporter’s stance in a statement published on their social media.
“Yesterday in the game between Manthiqueira x Corinthians there was a winner based on the score, but we all lost! Racism is a crime in football and in life”, wrote the club.
“Competent authorities are already taking care of the case. Yesterday was a day that, although we want to forget, will need to remain in everyone’s memory”, he added.
Corinthians informed via press office that it should comment on the case this Monday (20).
The game, valid for the quarter-finals of the tournament, ended with the black and white team winning 5-1.
