LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — A Brazilian soccer player who was subjected to monkey chants during a recent game in Bolivia’s professional league says racism must come to an end in the Andean country.
Serginho stormed off the field Sunday during a Bolivian league game that his club Wilstermann lost 2-0 against Blooming.
The 34-year-old striker said Thursday that he had been discriminated from the kick-off, and that he preferred to leave the field because his family was watching the game.
“Every time I had the ball, they’d shout: Monkey! Gorilla!” he said. “A precedent must be set once and for all.”
Blooming condemned the racist chants, but it also filed a complaint demanding that Serginho be suspended for leaving the game. The club argues that he taunted their fans. Meanwhile, Wilstermann has filed a complaint against Blooming in the same court, seeking a sanction against the racist noises emitted by its fans.
Other players have denounced racist incidents in Bolivian soccer, but no sanction has been taken against those acts so far.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.