CBF introduces ground-breaking measures to combat racism in football

The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) has introduced pioneering measures to combat racism, with new rules allowing them to sanction teams with points deductions if their fans or employees commit discrimination.

Ground-breaking rules will take effect from the Copa do Brasil, which starts on February 22, after the league’s statute was approved by all 20 Serie A clubs.

The plans were revealed after the CBF’s General Regulation of Competitions meeting on Tuesday, as Brazilian football aims to combat increasing levels of racism throughout the sport.

CBF president Ednaldo Rodrigues wants to put an end to such incidents after Brazilian football’s governing body became the first to adopt the ruling.

The issue has had increased prominence after Selecao and Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior was subjected to numerous racially motivated incidents while playing in Spain.

And the CBF’s measures follow Brazilian President Lula da Silva introducing a new law in January that made racial insults a crime and imposed greater penalties for offences committed at sporting and cultural events.

“The fight against racism is in a hurry – measures have been discussed for centuries and have never been put into practice,” Rodrigues said in a statement from the CBF.

“We decided to go further with punishments and we can even take away points from a club in one of our competitions.

“It is considered extremely serious if the discriminatory offence is practised by managers, representatives and professionals of clubs, athletes, coaches, members of the technical committee, fans and arbitration teams in any competition coordinated by the CBF.”

Rodrigues is the first black president to lead the CBF in over 100 years of the organisation’s history and vowed to battle to eradicate racism within football.

He added: “Racial discrimination is a crime and our job is to shed light on the issue.

“We really hope that we can also have the support of all the clubs, of all the fans, of all segments of society, of all the press, so that this does not just remain in a decorative way.

“In addition to sporting sanctions, for any and all acts of racism or any discrimination, the match summary will also be forwarded to the Public Ministry and the Civil Police so that the process does not die only in the sports sphere, and that offenders are also punished by law.”