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Mexican politician causes outrage after racist post about Ronaldinho
Ronaldinho is presented before thousands of Querétaro fans at the Corregidora stadium in his new club's shirt. Photograph: Carlos Tischler/Rex
The tone of the commotion over Ronaldinho’s surprise signing for the Mexican club Querétaro has moved from general enthusiasm to outrage in response to a Facebook post by a local politician calling the Brazilian legend an ape.
Carlos Treviño’s outburst was sparked by the traffic jams caused by Ronaldinho’s presentation to fans at half-time in Querétaro’s Friday night draw against Puebla.
“I try to be tolerant but I DETEST FOOTBALL and the dumbing down phenomenon it produces,” Treviño wrote. “I detest it all the more because people obstruct and flood the main avenues, causing me to spend two hours getting home … and all to see AN APE … A Brazilian, but an ape nonetheless. This has become a ridiculous circus.”
The post was soon deleted, but was nevertheless picked up by local media and sparked a social media furore. The feed #TodosSomosSimios or WeAreAllApes gathered force over the weekend and remained a trending topic in Mexico on Monday.
Meanwhile the club, known as The White Roosters of Querétaro, issued a statement on Sunday demanding “exemplary punishment” for Treviño.
Soon after that, Mexico’s national commission against discrimination announced on Twitter that it has opened an investigation into the “racist expressions” against Ronaldinho.
Treviño’s post also promoted his own right-wing National Action Party to announce it would launch an inquiry. The party’s regional chief, José Baez, said he would be seeking the politician’s expulsion from the party.
Ronaldinho did not play during Friday’s match, though he walked on to the pitch during half-time to say a few words and kick a few balls into a packed stadium hung with huge banners bidding him “Welcome”.
During a press conference earlier in the day in Mexico City, the 34-year-old said he had signed for Querétaro after leaving the Brazilian club Atlético Mineiro in July, because “I haven’t ever won anything in Mexico”.
Ronaldinho said his decision was also influenced by his brother Roberto’s period as a player for the Mexican team Tecos in 2000, though few Mexicans remember this. The former world player of the year added that the Mexican defender Rafael Márquez, his friend and former team-mate at Barcelona, had always given him a good impression of the country as well.
In response to a question about his reputation for wild nights out, Ronaldinho said: “I hope to continue living in the same way I have always done, winning titles.”
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Ronaldinho confirms Querétaro departure with one year left on contract
Ronaldinho says he will take some holiday time before deciding his next move after announcing his departure from Queretaro. Photograph: Guilherme Dionizio/ Guilherme Dionizio/Demotix/Corbis
Ronaldinho’s time at Querétaro has come to a premature end after the 35-year-old former Ballon d’Or winner announced his departure and thanked supporters of the Mexican team via a statement posted online.
The Brazilian scored eight times in 25 appearances for the Liga MX outfit since signing in September 2014 and has been linked with a move to Turkey. There was one year remaining on his contract but the head coach, Víctor Manuel Vucetich, had intimated at the end of last season he was likely to offload the attacker.
“To all my fans thank you very much, especially to my friends Arturo Villanueva, Mario Chicks and the tireless Sarah Vergara who helped me in all stages since the arrival until the time to sign the termination tonight.
“Thank you very much the Nation Gallos Blancos, which made me very proud to wear this shirt and defend this club. Roosters forever!!!
“In July I will be in Mexico and I promise to say goodbye personally. Thank you Queretaro FC! Thank you Mexico! Now I am going to take advantage of the holidays to rest and think about the future!!! Obrigadoooooooo.”
Before moving to Mexico, Ronaldinho had been courted rather ambitiously by Basingstoke Town. “We took a look at the transfer list to see which players were available,” Simon Hood, the club’s marketing director said at the time. “We were shocked to see that Ronaldinho was a free agent and thought what better way for him to get back into football than to play for Basingstoke Town.” There are no reports of them making a fresh offer.
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