Argentine soccer player makes antisemitic gesture during game

The soccer team tweeted an apology to Atlanta and the “entire Jewish community.”

By JTA STAFF
THE NEWLY renovated Bloomfield Stadium is now fully operational and the home to Tel Aviv's three top-tier soccer teams, two of which - Maccabi Tel Aviv and Bnei Yehuda - will be facing off against one another in Premier League action on Sunday (photo credit: UDI ZITIAT)
THE NEWLY renovated Bloomfield Stadium is now fully operational and the home to Tel Aviv's three top-tier soccer teams, two of which - Maccabi Tel Aviv and Bnei Yehuda - will be facing off against one another in Premier League action on Sunday
(photo credit: UDI ZITIAT)
An Argentine soccer player made an antisemitic gesture after being ejected from a game against a team with many Jewish supporters, sparking an outcry on social media and calls for his prosecution under the country’s law that prohibits displays of discrimination.

While leaving the field to jeers on Sunday, Arnaldo González put his hand on his head, imitating a yarmulke, and pointed to his genitals.

His team, New Chicago, was playing Atlanta, a rival Buenos Aires club in Villa Crespo, a traditionally Jewish neighborhood in the city. Founded in 1904, Atlanta has historically received support from Jewish fans and featured several Jewish players and administrators. The club now plays in the second tier of professional soccer in Argentina.

González later in a video posted on New Chicago’s Twitter account, saying he was “very ashamed.”

The team also tweeted an apology to Atlanta and the “entire Jewish community.”

González could be prosecuted under a law passed in Argentina in 1988, and could even see up to a . The head of Argentina’s National Institute Against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism — a government organization — said the group might take legal action against González.



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