Brazil rebuff Blatter with anti-racism campaign
Reuters - Thursday 24 November 2011, 22:53
World Cup 2014 hosts
Brazil appeared to publicly slam FIFA chief Sepp Blatter when
they launched a campaign against racism in sport on Thursday.
The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) named this
weekend's penultimate round of matches in the Brazilian
championship the "Round against Racism".
"The message the body wants to give... is of protest against
the intolerance many players suffer on the pitches of various
countries and which ought to be vehemently condemned by the
whole football universe," the CBF said in a statement.
"Racism is not resolved with a handshake and none of those
who suffer it forget it the next day," CBF president Ricardo
Teixeira said in the statement.
The statement appeared to rebuff FIFA President Blatter, who
said in an interview last week that incidents of racist abuse
during a match should be settled with a handshake after the
final whistle.
Blatter, surprised by the widespread outrage of his remarks,
later apologised publicly.
The CBF, listing several instances of Brazilian players
being the object of racism, said that in 2011 alone former
Brazil internationals Gilberto Silva and Roberto Carlos and
present Brazil players Marcelo and Neymar were among many who
had suffered racist insults from fans or opponents.
"It cannot be justified in the heat of a match nor
interpreted as the gesture of a fan. It's something intolerable
that doesn't mix with sport," Teixeira added.
"People who don't understand football is for everyone and
not just for one race should be banned definitively from sport."
Brazil coach Mano Menezes said there should be strong
punishment for people guilty of racism.
"It's very easy for a person to shake another's hand after a
match to say sorry for an insult towards what [the other] holds
most sacred and significant. The solution is to find in existing
laws a means to give out a very strong punishment," he said.
Blatter's remarks were strongly criticised in Britain where
Sports Minister Hugh Robertson and English Professional
Footballers' Association chief executive Gordon Taylor called
for his resignation.