Sao Paulo (AFP) – The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) said Friday it will take legal action against social media users who attacked its president and players with racist slurs.
The move came after users posted comments on the CBF's Instagram page calling black players for the Brazilian national team "monkeys" and CBF president Ednaldo Rodrigues, who has Indigenous roots, an "Indian." The CBF "will take legal action against those involved in these crimes," it said in a statement.
"We will take all necessary measures each and every time such attacks occur, without respite. The fight against discrimination is one of our most important causes."
The CBF said it also reported the incidents to Instagram, FIFA and South American football confederation CONMEBOL, as well as to police in Brazil, where racist hate speech is a crime punishable by up to five years in prison.
The racist messages were written in response to CBF posts on two recent losses to Brazil's arch-rivals Argentina: a 1-0 defeat for the senior men's team in a 2026 World Cup qualifier Tuesday, and a 3-0 loss in the quarter-finals of the under-17 World Cup Friday.
It is the latest in a series of racist incidents involving Brazilian players, including Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior, who has endured numerous attacks in Spain, and his teammate Rodrygo, who said he was also targeted with racist slurs on social media after Tuesday's loss.
That match -- Brazil's first-ever home defeat in World Cup qualifying -- was marred by a massive stadium brawl between rival fans, which delayed kickoff by around 30 minutes.