Banana thrown at Brazilian players in soccer friendly in Paris
FIFA have taken decisive action by banning nine Brazilians from the upcoming 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup over a series of racist incidents during an international soccer friendly last year, according to a report in the newspaper Folha.
The ban includes forwards Everton Tiago and Dário Santos and midfielders Gustavo Gomes and Daniel Alves, the latter of whom had already been banned for life in 2009 for his role in the racist incident between England’s players and Senegal striker Sadio Mane.
In June last year, Tiago and Santos, along with Gomes and Alves, were part of Brazil’s U-20 side playing against Germany in the final of the Toulon Tournament, when Gomes, the former Manchester United striker, was racially abused by a German fan as Brazil were playing out the remaining seconds of the game.
Gomes was not called up for the squad, while Tiago, Santos and Gomes were all booked by the referee. The incidents were only discovered after the match, and Tiago and Gomes both missed a training session a day later that week.
The FIFA Anti-Racism in sport department issued a statement saying the decision was taken following their investigation and that “the FIFA Football Ethics Committee considered it appropriate to take this decision following recent findings of racism in some recent footballing competitions, particularly in the context of international football.
“FIFA and the Brazilian Football Confederation are committed to the protection of the rights of all fans, regardless of race, nationality, colour, religion or political views.“
The nine Brazilians were told that the ban applies for both the upcoming World Cup in Brazil and any future competitions, and that any player who breaks the rules will be dropped from the squad.
The incident happened before the World Cup, when a stadium in Germany saw racist chanting and gestures from a number of Brazilians as Brazil scored three goals in a game against Germany.
The nine men have had their kit sponsors banned by FIFA, though Alves’ was reinstated earlier this week.
FIFA said that the investigation was not complete, and that the bans are subject to appeal