Argentina’s union of sports journalists (FAPED) has condemned the racist and xenophobic abuse directed at the photojournalist Evelin Rivero, during a Torneo Argentino B match, on 24 May.

The photojournalist of ‘Solo Futbol en Imágenes’ was racially abused by Deportivo Madryn Uruguayan goalkeeper Sebastián Pereyra during the first leg of the Argentino B semi-finals, between San Lorenzo de Alem and Deportivo Madryn, in Catamarca.

“In solidarity with our colleague, the FAPED condemns the lamentable and improper behaviour that took place during the semi-final match.” the union said in a statement.

“We will continue our work to eradicate discrimination from football and we call for a sporting and civil sanction for the player’s improper behaviour.” Read the statement.

Tackling racism ahead of the World Cup
For several years, the Argentinian state agency against discrimination INADI and the country's media have been campaigning against racism and xenophobia in football through a series of awareness-raising initiatives, including the diffusion of an anti-discrimination reporting guide.

Days before the incident, representatives of national and international sporting media outlets met in Buenos Aires to discuss and share good practice on the coverage of sporting mega events without discrimination and the use stereotypes.

“Football is a sounding board of what happens in society, a society that is becoming more aware of the issues around discrimination in the game, but that must continue to work to eradicate it completely” said Pedro Mouratian, a representative of INADI.

We want to use the World Cup to show that different ethnicities, cultures and religions can live and respect each other, as well as learn from each other.”

Therefore we believe that the way information is passed on is crucial and journalists are a very important element in this process.” he added.