SAO PAULO (AP) – CONMEBOL will beef up sanctions for clubs and fans who are involved in racist incidents during its matches, without disclosing more details.
The move on Friday followed several cases in different countries during the Copa Libertadores this year.
Fans of Argentine giants River Plate, Boca Juniors and Estudiantes de La Plata, Paraguay’s Olimpia, Colombia’s Millionarios and Chile’s Universidad Catolica have used racial slurs against supporters of Brazilian rivals.
“CONMEBOL will push for changes in regulations so penalties in racism cases are bigger and harsher,” the South American football body said.
It added that clubs have better means to identify racists and sanction them with resolve. “We are committed to designing and implementing new programmes and actions to remove this problem from South American football forever,” it said.
All clubs involved have criticised racist fans on social media, and forbid those who were identified from attending their matches.
One fan filmed performing monkey chants, a visiting Boca fan in Sao Paulo, was escorted to a police station, paid a fine and left Brazil less than 24 hours after the incident. Corinthians striker Willian used social media to protest against the leniency, and many other footballers followed.
