The Football Association involved have punished the ‘form of symbolic violence’
A player who starred for Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson has been prohibited from taking part in “all football related activity” for a period of six months.
His suspension has come about after the club he represents allegedly refused to give their league’s newly-crowned champions a guard of honour, opting to turn their backs instead.
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Juan Sebastian Veron — who represented the Red Devils from 2001-2003 — is now the President of Argentine club Estudiantes de La Plata, and has been accused by the Argentine FA of giving the order for players to turn their backs on league champions Rosario Central on Sunday.
After initially feigning to shape up into a traditional “guard of honour”, the players representing Veron’s club turned to face away from the Rosario Central first XI, as soon as they made their way onto the pitch.
Following the match, an accusation was made against Veron.
A six-person disciplinary panel was then held, which reached the conclusion that Veron’s decision to instruct players to turn away constituted “a form of symbolic violence and an affront to the values of respect and sportsmanship.”
According to The Athletic, Estudiantes were protesting a decision by the Argentine league to award Rosario Central with the Campeon de Liga (Champion of the League) trophy, the first of its kind ever handed out.
The new award is “given to the team with the most points in the league’s general standings, which combines this year’s Apertura (opening) and Clausura (closing) tournaments.”
This ultimately meant that Central were awarded a trophy for their overall average performance despite not winning either of Argentina’s two major competitions.
Every player who turned their back was immediately handed a two-match ban, while the Estudiantes captain was banned from wearing his armband for the next three months.
The club were also issued a fine that has been estimated by Argentine paper Clarin, to be at around £91,000.
The club have issued a statement in response to the allegations, in which they made clear that “the Board of Directors expresses its absolute support for its president Juan Sebastián Verón, for Santiago Nuñez, and for the entire professional squad.”
The Argentine FA claim that Veron admitted to giving the order for players to turn their backs, and this is represented in the written findings of the tribunal, which read: “It was not an improvised or isolated gesture by a player, but rather a directive issued by the highest institutional authority of the club.
“The decision to turn their backs was made by the club president with the approval of the board of directors.
“However, they report that this decision is in line with the principles of freedom of expression and does not imply either discredit or incitement to violence.”
The findings then make clear the difference between their perspective and that of Estudiantes’ position, adding: “The assertion that the conduct displayed ‘did not generate violence’ cannot be accepted.
“Even though no physical incidents or obvious hostile reactions were verified in the stands, the gesture analysed constitutes a form of symbolic violence and an affront to the values of respect and sportsmanship protected by the Disciplinary Code.”
It is currently unclear what power Veron has to appeal or protest against his charge. At present, he is set to be banned until mid-2026.
