Argentine youngster sanctioned for racism | OneFootball

Matheo Benítez Machuca received a four-month suspension following a complaint by Brazil players during the South American Championship held in Paraguay.

Matheo Benítez Machuca, a player for Argentina’s Under-17 national team coached by Diego Placente, received a four-month suspension from the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) for racism against Brazil players during a match in the South American Championship for the category, held in Paraguay.

The punishment against the midfielder, who plays for Independiente, takes immediate effect and, since it was extended by FIFA, also applies at the local level. In other words, he will not even be able to play for Independiente’s reserve team, coached by Carlos Matheu and Eduardo Tuzzio, which drew 1-1 with Defensa y Justicia this Tuesday.

According to the complaint from the young Canarinha players, Machuca allegedly made a monkey gesture at them on the field at Ameliano Stadium. Although television cameras did not capture the moment, referee David Ojeda received a strong complaint, though he did not apply the anti-racism protocol at the time.

The Argentine Football Association (AFA) will appeal the sanction so that the youngster can play in the friendlies leading up to the U-17 World Cup, which will be held in Qatar from November 19 to December 13, by which time he will already be eligible again.

Machuca’s punishment comes after UEFA sanctioned Gianluca Prestianni with a six-match ban for “discriminatory conduct (that is, homophobic)” against Brazilian player Vinicius during a Champions League clash between Benfica and Real Madrid. In that incident, in which the Argentina international covered his mouth, the Brazil forward reported that he called him a monkey. The ban means that, if the former Vélez player is called up to the World Cup by Lionel Scaloni, he will miss the first two matches.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.