Venezuelan Luis Martínez and Colombian Cristian Rodríguez fell to a Brazilian pair in doubles at the Itajaí Challenger and their reactions generated a scandal.
The Challenger 75 of Itajaí, in Brazil, it was seen shaken by scandal that transcended sports. Luis David Martínez and Cristian Rodríguez, representatives of Venezuela and Colombia respectively, were arrested for making racist gestures at the end of their doubles quarterfinal match.
The controversy broke out after the fall of the binomial Ante the Brazilians Igo Marcondes and Eduardo Ribeirowho won 7-6 (4), 6-7 (6) and 10-2. Once on the network, the Venezuelan tennis player imitated a monkeywhile his partner directed the insult “monkey” to one of the ball catchersaccording to witnesses present on the field.
This was Luis Martínez’s racist gesture
The reaction was immediate: The organizers summoned the Military Police, who proceeded to transport both players to a hotel in the city to leave them in custody, according to what was reported by local media. In Brazilian territory, racially motivated insults are classified as a crime, with penalties ranging from two to five years in prisonin addition to economic sanctions.
The tournament organization issued a statement condemning what happened: “The incident that occurred today during the doubles match at the Itajaí Open caused the immediate intervention of the Military Police, who was present and took the necessary measures in accordance with Brazilian legislation. The Itajaí Open vehemently condemns racism and discrimination of any kind.”
The Argentines on the Challenger 75 in Itajaí
In the singles division, the only Argentine still in the race is Alex Barrena, 23 years old, who will play in the quarterfinals against the Peruvian Gonzalo Bueno. While Juan Manuel La Serna, Guido Justo and Genaro Olivieri were already out in the second round, and Nicolás Kicker, Andrea Collarini, Juan Estévez, Juan Bautista Torres, Lautaro Midon and Gonzalo Villanueva in the 16th. On the other hand, in the doubles there are no longer any in competition.
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