The cast of Universitario, from Peru, posed for a photo with a banner in support of Uruguayan physical trainer Sebastián Avellino, arrested in São Paulo on suspicion of racism against Corinthians fans.
“We are with you, Sebastián A.”, says the sign, posted before a local championship match, in which the team beat Unión Comercio by 2-0. The game took place on Friday night (14), in Lima.
Universitario posted the image on its Twitter; in the comments of the publication, hundreds of internet users criticized the attitude.
Avellino was arrested on Tuesday (11), after his club’s 1-0 defeat by Corinthians in Itaquera. He would have made racist gestures, imitating a monkey, to the fans of the São Paulo team. The trainer denies it. Days later, videos appeared in which the professional seems to imitate the animal while collecting training material.
The Peruvian club from the beginning defended its professional and has already stated that the prison “crosses all limits”. On Thursday (13), the Court of Justice of São Paulo denied habeas corpus to Avellino and converted his arrest in flagrante delicto into preventive, therefore, without a determined time. Thus, he should be arrested during the investigation process.
Corinthians and Universitario face off in a kind of South American Cup play-off, played between third-placed teams in their Libertadores groups (as is the case of the São Paulo team) and teams that were in second place in their groups in the first phase of the Sudamericana (as in the case of the Peruvian team).
The second leg will take place next Tuesday (18th), at 9:30 pm, in Lima, and Corinthians will play for a draw.
