The Ni Una Menos campaign that originated in Argentina has swept the world addressing domestic violence however Ricardo Centurion’s return to the playing field amid little media coverage or criticism shows that the movement has only scratched the surface of the country’s system inability to tackle machismo.
As Ricardo Cenrturion scored the second goal for Boca Juniors against Aldosivi on Saturday, he ran towards the Boca fans while commentator Mariano Closs praised his hard work and thousands of Boca fans on social media and in the ‘real’ world hailed their star man. This was Centurion’s first game since the allegations of his former girlfriend Melisa Tozzi of repeated domestic abuse over a number of months had forced her to reside in a safe house unknown to the Boca player to escape his advances.
Facebook / Boca
In a country where football often runs contrary to the every day realities of the society to which it is entwined, the case of Centurion is a sad reflection of the attitude that exists towards domestic violence both in Argentina but also Latin America more broadly. The passion for foootball in Argentina often excuses inexcusable acts and gaping flaws and errors of human beings due to their ability to kick a football. The obvious case is Diego Maradona who’s beyond cult status has meant many continually overlook his disgraceful track record with regard to domestic violence. Ironically Centurion and Maradona are currently involved in their own private dispute owing to rumours that Maradona’s on-off girlfriend Rocío Oliva has also maintained a relationship with the Boca midfielder.
While Muslim countries are portrayed as more oppressive in this respect, the reality is that based on quantifiable data, Latin America by some decent leads the rest of the world for domestic abuse against women. Of course there are extenuating factors that in the Muslim world, women have little option to report these cases and are more systematically oppressed. That being said, in Argentina alone there have been 2,834 women murdered by their partners since 2009 as of March 2017.
In a current climate of growing concern for domestic violence due to the popularity of the Ni Una Menos campaign, Melisa Tozzi made a number of these allegations public when she appeared for an interview outlining the nature of both the psychological and physical acts Centurion made in their time together. She stated that Centurion repeatedly told her during fights that ‘If she wasn’t with him then she would be with nobody’ while leaving her on numerous occasions with black eyes and unconscious. Inevitably claims that Tozzi is using this to create a celebrity status have been made however Centurion has been no stranger to acts of violence. Having already numerous police charges as well as photos of him holding a firearm, more recently a video emerged of 3 Boca Juniors players having to restrain Centurion in a hotel before the summer Superclasico in January.
Boca manager, Guillermo Barros Schelotto remarked that he did condone sexual violence only after he had made numerous comments about footballers private life being none of his business and that the team behaved very well in training. Meanwhile the club itself has made no such comment denouncing domestic violence with the exception of a #NiUnaMenos tweet month prior to the accusations against Centurion. The silence of the club is harrowing given the power that the institution yields, perhaps greater than any governmental or private institution in the country and any condemnation would yield significant influence. Equally Barros Schelotto’s view of what happens at home is again representative of an attitude that is generally accepted in the country and is a passive form of tolerance that has to be addressed. In fact a google search for who has condemned Centurion’s attack shows that with the exception of Tozzi and other family members, the list is very small and contains no-one directly involved with football.
The ni una menos movement has been a fantastic response to this attitude and seeks to bring issues that have traditionally remained in the house out into the open to be discussed publicly. The movement however has been largely absent in its criticism of Centurion, this may be a conscious decision to avoid engaging in what may be seen as opportunist media attention or possibly rooted in a reluctance to engage in the criticism of Boca’s star player which could lead to a public backlash.
