Colombian club first fined for fans' racist acts
Reuters - Thursday 22 March 2012, 23:56
Deportivo Pasto became the
first Colombian club ever to be fined for racist acts by its
fans on Thursday.
League body Dimayor fined Pasto $6,400 after fans shouted
racist jibes at two rival players during Sunday's 3-1 win over
La Equidad in the first division Apertura championship.
"There was a case of racism against La Equidad players
Dahwling Leudo and Carmelo Valencia. The Deportivo Pasto fans
shouted 'mico' (monkey) and 'negro' on several occasions," the
Dimayor quoted the referee's match report as saying.
It added that if the fans who insulted the players could be
identified they would be banned from football stadiums for
between one and three years.
Although such jibes are frequent at Colombian football grounds, it is the first time a club has been punished for such
insults by their fans.
"They shouted at us, going 'ooh, ooh.' That happens at a lot
of stadiums and it's sad because it's not good for football. I
disagree with that, I'm proud of being black," Valencia told
reporters.
There has been a strong drive against racism in football in
western Europe in recent years but it has not really been
considered a problem in Latin America.
Uruguayan players defended compatriot Luis Suarez of
Liverpool as non-racist when he was suspended for eight matches
this year by the English FA for calling Manchester United's
French captain Patrice Evra "negro."