Flamengo beats Bahia but match marred by racism accusations
Flamengo midfielder Gerson accused Juan Ramirez of saying, "Shut your mouth, Black," and called the Colombian midfielder's comments "unacceptable".
Published : Dec 21, 2020 16:28 IST
Flamengo scored twice in the last eight minutes to come from behind and beat Bahia 4-3 on Sunday, but the Brazilian league match was overshadowed by accusations a Bahia player used racist language towards an opponent.
Flamengo midfielder Gerson accused Juan Ramirez of saying, "Shut your mouth, Black," and called the Colombian midfielder's comments "unacceptable".
"I have played a lot of professional matches but I have never come and said anything like this to the press because I've never suffered this kind of prejudice," the former AS Roma and Fiorentina player said after the game.
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Video also showed Gerson remonstrating with Bahia coach Mano Menezes and the 23-year-old said the former Brazil coach, " ... has to learn to respect (people)."
Bahia later announced it was investigating "the serious accusation of racism involving the Colombian 'Indio' Ramirez" and would make a statement after reaching a conclusion.
The club also said it had fired Menezes, though it did not clarify if that decision was related to Sunday's incident or its run of five straight losses.
Vitinho's winner a minute from time means Flamengo move into second place in Serie A, five points behind Sao Paulo but with a game in hand.
Bahia is one place above the relegation zone in 16th.
Reigning champion Flamengo was 2-0 up at halftime through Bruno Henrique and Mauricio Isla despite having Gabriel Barbosa sent off after just 10 minutes for dissent. READ:
Bahia, which had lost its previous four league games, stormed back to score three times in the first 15 minutes of the second half and looked set for a stunning victory.
But Flamengo was not finished, and after Pedro chested a cross into the net with eight minutes remaining Vitinho completed the remarkable comeback in the dying moments.