 |
|
Brazil: Corinthians' Tevez gets an earful from Mum [Fri Sep 16th, 2005]
Argentinean ex-pat number 10 Carlos Tevez, 21, got his ear bent by Mrs. Tevez after some rash declarations that women shouldn’t be allowed to referee classic derbies.
Carlos owned up to being told off by his mother in an interview with Argentinean radio station rádio Mitre.
“’La vieja’ (The old girl) gave me a telling off,†admitted the ex-Boca striker, “She called wanting explanations for what I said.â€
Tevez had railed against the performance of female trio SÃlvia Regina de Oliveira (referee), Ana Paula Oliveira and Maria Eliza Correia Barbosa (lineswomen) in the recent Brasileirão game against São Paulo.
“She told me ‘Apache (Tevez’s nom-de-guerre from the tough Buenos Aires neighbourhood nicknamed Fort Apache after the Paul Newman film about violence in the Bronx) they’re going to gang up on you now – what did you actually say about women?’, and I told her that I was misinterpreted – all I said was that it’s easier to argue with a man than a woman.â€
His rash comments could land the Timão idol in hot water as the ‘Comissão da Mulher Advogada da OAB (Ordem dos Advogados do Brasil)’ or Women lawyers commission of the OAB (Order of Brazilian Lawyers) intend to press charges.
“Carlos Tevez’s conduct is nothing more than an offensive manner of discriminating against women in their right to exercise their profession in peace. The refereeing team in question are properly trained, qualified and licensed to fulfil their function,†explained the President of the group, Maria Elisa Munhol.
A formal complaint has been lodged with Gradi (Grupo de Repressão e Análise de Delitos de Intolerância – a task force repressing and analysing crimes of intolerance), a branch of the Brazilian PolÃcia Civil.
Lineswoman Ana Paula Oliveira seemed annoyed but unflustered. “This already happened with [Emerson] Leao and [ex-Corinthians Coach] Tite. They just do it when they lose to put the blame anywhere else except at their own doorâ€.
Tevez has recently ruffled many feathers in Brazilian refereeing circles, due to claims that xenophobic refereeing is making it impossible for him and other Argentineans to play in Brazil. The player has since gone back on statements that he’s on the verge of leaving the country in frustration, realising the counter-productive nature of his tirade.
“I’m fine here, living happily with my wife and my daughter. Apart from that, the people adore me here,†he declared with an apparent barb at the treatment he received in the last few months in his native Argentina.
He took a fine for giving an interview dressed in a Man U windcheater in his stride, laughing off suggestions that he’d coughed up 20% of his salary (US$20,000) for the privilege of sporting the Red Devils' logo. “It was only R$2,000 (US$750)â€.
Aaron Marcus
News headlines from around the world.