Following the unfortunate events in Rio de Janeiro, football organizations came out to say their word.
The night of November 21st had endless emotions in the Maracana. Argentina won 1-0 Brazil Through South American Qualifiers and ended a historic run at home, but in the run-up there were terrible moments of police repression.
Now with the teams on the playing field, Brazilian police attacked Argentine fans occupying part of the stands of the legendary stadium and beat them with their batons.. The brawl was so big that the footballers reported it, went to the place to calm the situation and then to the locker room until the basic safety conditions were in place to spend the party in peace.
After the match, several footballers had very harsh words against the actions of the law, including Lionel Messi, Emiliano Martínez, Nicolás Otamendi and Rodrigo De Paul. Everyone agreed that such an event could not happen again.
Wednesday morning, Gianni Infantinothe chairman of FIFAspoke a few words about it on his official social networks, with the most relevant paragraph being a call to action: ““All players, supporters, staff and managers must feel safe to play and enjoy football. I call on the relevant authorities to ensure this is respected across the board.”.
This given, CONMEBOL has decided to issue a statement in which it also rejects the events and, above all, exposes responsibility to FIFA. “The development of the rules for the qualifying tournaments, as well as the decision to open an investigation and the application of possible sanctions, are the exclusive competences of FIFA”says the letter from the South American confederation. It is also the only part of the speech that is in bold.
THE FULL DECLARATION OF CONMEBOL
Following the events that took place during the South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup and in order to inform public opinion, the following clarification is appropriate:
CONMEBOL condemns all forms of violence and will always cooperate in actions aimed at eliminating violence, racism, xenophobia and discrimination.
In this sense, the South American Confederation has worked systematically to eradicate this scourge that affects South American and global football; and makes itself available to continue to collaborate on any initiative that aims to eradicate bigotry and violence in sports.
Likewise, it is noted that CONMEBOL is not the organizer of the World Cup qualifiers.
The development of the rules for the qualifying tournaments, as well as the decision to open an investigation and the application of possible sanctions, fall under the exclusive competences of FIFA.
MESSAGE FROM GIANNI INFANTINO
“Violence in football is completely unacceptable, both on and off the field of play. These types of events, such as those that took place during the World Cup qualifying match between Brazil and Argentina at the Maracana Stadium, are unacceptable in our sport and in football. Our society. Without exception, all players, supporters, staff and managers must feel safe and protected to play and enjoy football, and I call on the relevant authorities to ensure this is respected across the board.”
Source: Goal