The Disciplinary Board of the Portuguese Football Federation has opened disciplinary proceedings against Sporting over comments made by Carlos Xavier about Taremi on 8 September in a program broadcast on Sporting TV. In his statements, the former Portugal international accused the Porto striker of being “a Muslim who, when he came to Portugal, could not swim, but now knows how to dive.”
Porto’s reaction was not long in coming and was expressed in a statement addressed to Sporting. “What do organizations such as SOS Racismo, Amnesty, ERC, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance, Justice Portugal and the government think about these xenophobic, racist and hate speeches on sports television? Or the Equality and Racial Discrimination Commission? “It’s too serious to escape unscathed,” the dragons asked.
Due to the fallout, the former Lions player retracted his testimony, apologizing to the Iran international, assuring that he only intended to refer to “the way he plays,” refuting any xenophobic or racist criticism, and taking full responsibility for their words, dismissing the possibility that they would link up with Sporting.
What is certain is that the apology did not put an end to the controversy, which also led to a reaction from the Iranian Football Federation, which considered Carlos Xavier’s statements “absurd and obscene.” Subsequently, Amnesty International also concluded that Portugal “has a long way to go” in the fight against racism. Taremi also did not fail to react and admitted that he gave the Iranian Football Federation the freedom to respond because it was a “racist insult against the Iranian people.”
The process will now move forward and under Article 113 of the Disciplinary Regulations, which deals with discriminatory proceedings, the Lions could face a maximum penalty of five games behind closed doors and an associated fine.
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Source: CM Jornal
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