An Argentina Under-17 youngster banned for four months over racism | OneFootball

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

The punishment for the midfielder, who plays for Independiente, takes immediate effect and, since it was extended to FIFA, it also applies domestically. 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 Brazil’s youth players, Machuca allegedly made a monkey gesture toward 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 the youngster can play in the friendlies leading up to the Under-17 World Cup, which will be held in Qatar from November 19 to December 13, by which time he will already be eligible again.

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

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