ASUNCION, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) — The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL), based in the Paraguayan city of Luque, announced on Thursday that it will join FIFA to eradicate racist acts in football, as part of its anti-discrimination campaign called “Enough Racism.”
In this sense, the governing body of South American football will implement the universal gesture of arms crossed in the shape of a cross to denounce racist behaviour, within the tournaments it organises, both at club and national team level.
This innovative procedure was unanimously approved at the 74th FIFA Congress, held in Bangkok, Thailand, on 17 May 2024, and will be implemented in all FIFA competitions, starting with the Women’s World Cup Colombia 2024, currently underway.
The racist incident gesture will be part of the three-tier procedure, which all Member Associations have agreed to adhere to and which they will apply in their respective footballing landscapes, ensuring that it is used equally across the world.
The official report from Conmebol states that this procedure will allow footballers, referees and members of the technical staff to adopt a firm stance against racism, and will be implemented in all tournaments organized by Conmebol from 2024.
It works by crossing the hands at the wrist, where players can directly indicate to the main referee that they are being subjected to racist abuse. The referee will then activate a three-level procedure provided for such incidents.
At the first level, the match will be interrupted and if the incidents continue, the match will be temporarily suspended and both the players and the refereeing team will leave the field of play.
If the incident does not cease during the temporary suspension, the match will be permanently suspended.
