Bail of Boca fan accused of racism was paid by Argentine consulate

Accused of racism against Corinthians fans, Argentine trader Leonardo Ponzo, 43, did not even pay the R$3,000 bail imposed by the Brazilian court. The amount was paid by the Argentine consulate in São Paulo.

According to people who were at the DOPE (Department of Strategic Police Operations) told Sheetemployees of the Argentine government’s representation in the capital, upon learning of the value of the guarantee, asked where there would be an ATM at Banco Santander, so they would withdraw the amount.

Ponzo was filmed by Corinthians fans making monkey gestures towards the Brazilians and later identified by the stadium’s security cameras. He was detained at halftime of the match played this Tuesday (26), valid for the Copa Libertadores, and taken to the Jecrim (Special Criminal Court) inside the Neo Química Arena. But the case could only be registered on the spot in crimes with a maximum penalty of two years in prison.

As the Argentine’s gesture fits as a racial slur, with detention of up to three years, he was referred to the DOPE. Consulate officials argued this Wednesday morning (27th) that Ponzo was not imitating a monkey and was just scratching himself.

The report contacted the Argentine consulate by phone and email, but so far has not received a response.

“On the descent [da arquibancada] he said he didn’t understand. Why was he being arrested? The fan has no idea of ​​the scope of the monitoring system. He has no idea how much he is being watched. By the time I showed him the pictures, he was quiet. There was nothing to say,” said Captain Paulo Matheus dos Santos Dias, commander of the 2nd company of the 2nd Shock Police battalion, responsible for policing the stadium.

Ponzo had already been identified halfway through the first half, but officers decided to wait until halftime to lessen the possibility of confusion. Perceiving the approach of the officers, according to the captain, the accused tried to hide.

When removing Ponzo from the stands, the police were applauded by the audience at the Neo Química Arena.

“I was very unhappy with what happened. It’s one thing for the guy to make another type of gesture, to curse… It’s natural for those who go to the stadium. Racism is another thing”, adds captain Matheus.

In response to a tweet from Corinthians’ official account that reported the case of racism, Boca Juniors expressed its rejection “of the racist and xenophobic gestures of a fan towards Corinthians supporters. At the next meeting of the steering committee, the measures to be implemented and sanctions that may be applied”.

“The act practiced in the stadium was a racial insult. But the STF (Federal Supreme Court) equated racial insult with the crime of racism in 2021. Crimes of racism are non-bailable and imprescriptible. This is already the subject of a bill in the Federal Senate . I do not agree with the decision to determine bail. It should not have been arbitrated”, defends Robson de Oliveira, president of the OAB’s Racial Equality Commission in São Paulo.

It is the second time in two weeks that there are problems of racism in games between Brazilians and Argentines. On the 13th, a River Plate fan was filmed throwing a banana at Fortaleza fans in a match between the two teams held in Buenos Aires, also for Libertadores. The club suspended the accused and promised to prevent him from entering the Monumental de Nuñez stadium.

A survey by the Observatory of Racial Discrimination in Football shows that five cases of racism have been recorded against Brazilian players or fans in South American competition matches since 2014. The numbers predate the cases involving River Plate and Boca Juniors fans.

All the punishments imposed by Conmebol, organizer of Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana, were financial. The biggest was US$ 30,000 (R$ 148,000 in updated values), paid by Barcelona (EQU) last year for racial insults against striker Bruno Henrique, from Flamengo.

Added to the five previous sanctions in the Fortaleza case, clubs that were involved in racism paid a total of US$ 87 (R$ 431 thousand at the current price) in punishments.

“Conmebol only provides for financial punishment. It’s as if racism had a price. Clubs don’t work on raising awareness against racism because of that. They’ll pay a fine and that’s okay. Conmebol needs to think about the issue of taking points or excluded from the championship. If that doesn’t happen, cases of Brazilian monkey swearing will be part of a folklore that has been going on for a long time”, complains Marcelo Carvalho, executive director of the Observatory of Racial Discrimination in Football.

The South American Confederation’s disciplinary code does not provide for any punishment other than financial for clubs. In its article 17, it says that the fine to be paid is at least US$ 30 thousand. For players, the suspension is a minimum of five matches and a maximum of two months.

The report asked Conmebol for a position on cases of racism in Libertadores in the last two weeks and on punishments, but the entity did not respond.

Boca Juniors has already been excluded from Libertadores because of its fans, but it was not about racism. In 2015, in La Bombonera, the team’s stadium, pepper spray was fired at River Plate athletes through a crack in the tunnel leading to the field.

With the gas hitting not only the athletes, but also fans and employees, the match did not continue and the hosts were eliminated, with River, declared the winner of the confrontation by 3 to 0. Diego Blas Biglia, fan accused of throwing the gas , was suspended for two years and eight months.

The CBF, which represents the Brazilian teams, did not comment on the matter.