Argentine women's soccer players released in Brazil after racist incident

SAO PAULO — Four players from the River Plate women’s soccer team who were arrested for an alleged racial slur during a match have been released says Sao Paulo state's prison administration secretariat.

Judge Fernando Oliveira Camargo freed Argentine footballers Candela Díaz, Camila Duarte, Juana Cángaro and Milagros Díaz from prison on Friday on condition they show up in court in Sao Paulo every month until the case is finished.

The names of the four footballers were published in a document outside the Carandiru penitentiary in Sao Paulo as being released late Friday. The Argentine players spent Christmas in jail. Neither their lawyer nor their club revealed on Saturday whether they have returned home.

On Dec. 21, a Brazil Ladies Cup semifinal between River and Brazil 's Grêmio was stopped in the first half after Díaz made apparent monkey gestures to a ball boy, which was caught in broadcast footage. A brawl started and Grêmio players walked off in protest.

The referee issued red cards to six River players and ended the semifinal because there was no longer the minimum number of players required to continue.

The score was 1-1 but the referee awarded the match to Grêmio, which won the tournament final two days later.

The Brazil Ladies Cup also banned River from the tournament for two years.

Organizers said future editions will immediately ban any participating team whose athletes or staff “engage in racist gestures on the playing field.”

Grêmio coach Thaissan Passos said her team told her River players previously called them “monkeys.”

The Argentine players have yet to make public comments about the case.

River also condemned discriminatory gestures. The club said it was "taking the appropriate disciplinary measures and will continue working to eradicate such behavior.”

Argentine clubs have been frequently sanctioned by South American sports bodies due to racist gestures from their fans, especially in men's soccer matches involving Brazilian clubs.