Conmebol president apologises for Tarzan remark about Brazilian teams

ASUNCION – South American Football Confederation (Conmebol) president Alejandro Dominguez apologised on March 18 for saying that the Copa Libertadores without Brazilian teams would be like “Tarzan without Cheetah”, after a club official had suggested sides could withdraw due to racism.

Palmeiras president Leila Pereira said that Brazilian clubs should consider pulling out of South American competitions due to the lack of strong sanctions against racism following an incident involving one of the team’s Under-20 players.

“Cheetah” was, in fact, not a cheetah but a chimpanzee character in the Tarzan films and television series. Describing players as monkeys, especially black players, is often seen as a form of racism.

Dominguez was asked by journalists if he could imagine the Libertadores without Brazilian teams following the March 17 draw for South America’s top club competition at the Conmebol headquarters in Paraguay. 

“That would be like Tarzan without Cheetah, impossible,” he replied with a laugh.

Shortly before that, the Paraguayan had ironically said in a speech that racism was a scourge affecting football and that his organisation would continue to apply sanctions so that “every racist expression has a real consequence”.

“I want to apologise. The expression I used is a popular phrase and I never intended to belittle or disqualify anyone,” Dominguez said on March 18 on his X account. 

“The Conmebol Libertadores is unthinkable without the participation of clubs from the 10 member countries... I reaffirm my commitment to continue working for a fairer, more united and discrimination-free football.”

Dominguez’s comments sparked a backlash and the Brazilian government strongly condemned them, criticising Conmebol for its failure to implement effective anti-racism measures.

“The Brazilian government repudiates in the strongest terms the statements made by the president of Conmebol Alejandro Dominguez,” a Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement read.

“The statements take place in a context in which Conmebol authorities have repeatedly failed to adopt effective measures to prevent and avoid the repetition of acts of racism in matches organised by them.”

To its credit, Conmebol fined Paraguayan club Cerro Porteno US$50,000 (S$67,000) in March after Palmeiras player Luighi was racially abused during a Copa Libertadores Under-20 match.

But Pereira criticised the organisation’s weak sanction as “absurd” and suggested that clubs should consider moving to the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf). REUTERS