The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) has announced that football clubs in Brazil’s top division may lose points if their supporters or employees are found to have committed racist acts. The announcement comes after all 20 Brazilian first-division clubs approved new sanctions.
Beyond racism, the new sanctions include sexual orientation, gender, ethnicity, nationality, religion, and any other offense against human dignity. The anti-discrimination package aims to hold everyone associated with the club accountable for their actions. This includes fans, and clubs may be fined, forced to play games behind closed doors, lose the right to register players or lose points.
The possibility of losing points is the most contentious sanction, and clubs are not thrilled about being held accountable for the actions of their fans. The initial fine is approximately £90,000 ($126,000), which can be doubled in the event of a second offense. The possibility of losing points, on the other hand, is open to appeal and will be determined by the sports justice system.
Brazil has a history of racism in football, and the CBF’s move aims to address the problem. According to the organization that monitors racism in Brazilian football, approximately 40% of sentences have been overturned on appeal in the sports justice system in the past. The new sanctions may have a lengthy process, but the most important thing is that the message from Brazil’s FA is that these types of behavior, particularly racism, homophobia, and sexism, are unacceptable inside football stadiums and when associated with football.
The clubs have agreed to the new sanctions, but they recognize the importance of accepting responsibility. Loss of points is a large stick that is kept in reserve. Before clubs can get to that point, they must first clear a number of hurdles. The idea of being held accountable for the actions of all of their supporters does not sit well with them.
The big stick is the loss of points, but it’s not as simple as that. The clubs will have the opportunity to demonstrate their defense. The legal procedures may be time-consuming, but they send a strong message that Brazil is taking action to combat discrimination. It could be related to a recent government change, and it is significant that the president of Brazil’s FA, Rogério Caboclo, is from the Northeast, one of the poorer regions of the country where people are frequently victims of discrimination and prejudice.
Brazil has grown increasingly frustrated by Spain’s lack of action to combat racism. Brazilian internationals Vinicius Junior and Rodrigo have expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of action taken in Spain to combat racism. Vinicius Junior was subjected to a racist chant for the sixth time this season, but no punishment has been meted out for any of the previous incidents.
CBF’s decision is a positive step that will help address the issue of racism in football. Brazilians are outraged at how slow Spain appears to be in acting on this issue, and the CBF move has added fuel to the fire for Brazil to declare that they’ve got their house in order, and what is Spain going to do over there with one of their own?
