Soccer-Palmeiras’ Tabata gets four-month ban after racist abuse allegations | The mighty 790 KFGO

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(Reuters) Palmeiras midfielder Bruno Tabata was suspended for four months by CONMEBOL after allegations of racism in a 3-0 Copa Libertadores win over Paraguay’s Cerro Porteno, but said that he had been abused and that his club would appeal the decision.

Tabata and other Palmeiras substitutes drew attention to racist abuse by Cerro Porteno fans during the match, which was played in May. However, the CONMEBOL Disciplinary Tribunal sanctioned the Brazilian on Friday for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Palmeiras will appeal the sanction, applied to competitions organized by the South American governing body, for which they collected video footage in order to present the case.

Completely wrongly, I was denounced by the Cerro Porteno team for having made racist gestures towards the supporters of the Paraguayan club during our Libertadores away game, acts that I did not commit in any way, Tabata said in a video sent to CONMEBOL.

What really happened was that I heard the fans shouting monos (monkeys) at the players who were on the pitch near the north stand. We don’t speak Spanish and we didn’t understand what was going on.

When we understood, I asked them to come back and I wanted to understand if that was it, if they were calling us monkeys.

I denounced the racism of their fans, because they are the responsible, not us, he added.

In a video posted on social media and published by local outlet Globo Ge, a Porteno fan recorded himself calling Palmeiras players monkeys and shouting other insults.

CONMEBOL also fined Cerro Porteno $100,000 and ordered the partial closure of the Lower North Stand at General Pablo Rojas Stadium for their upcoming home game, which is to be covered with a banner reading Basta de racismeo (Stop to racism).

CONMEBOL did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

(Reporting by Angelica Medina in Mexico City; Editing by Ken Ferris)

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