Rio de Janeiro – Former national soccer team defender Antonio Carlos received a 120-day suspension Thursday for his on-field racial taunts against a black player.
The penalty was handed down by the sports tribunal in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, which ruled that the defensemen, also known as “Zago,” will have to sit out the next four matches with his club, Juventude, before the four-month ban even begins.
Carlos, who played with Spain’s Albacete in 1992 and for Italy’s Roma between 1998 and 2002, already had been sanctioned with a 60-day suspension, but the court, after concluding its work in the case, decided to increase the punishment.
The defender was expelled from a March 5 match against Gremio after delivering an elbow to Geovanio, a black player whose team won the game by a score of 3-1.
But what landed Carlos in hot water was the televised scene of the defender imitating a simian as he called the opposing player a “monkey.” That footage – and the resulting outrage – prompted the initial 60-day penalty.
Despite the fact that Zago denied having delivered the insult, Geovano, who has complained of discrimination in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, where the majority of the residents are white, said he would file a legal complaint against Carlos for calling him a monkey.
The sports tribunal elected not to impose the 480-day suspension demanded by prosecutors in the case.
“I didn’t attack anyone. I think that decision is unfair. Now I’ll go home without knowing what to do. My remaining with the club is up to Juventude,” said Carlos after the verdict was handed down.
Carlos, 37, was a starter on the Brazilian squad that competed at the 1998 World Cup in France, losing in the final to the hosts.
