Renato Ibarra played again with the shirt of the America club. The Ecuadorian midfielder had not participated with the Águilas since the return final against Monterrey in December 2019. The midfielder was separated from the Azulcrema discipline in March 2020 after physically assaulting his pregnant wife. In a statement, the Coapa group mentioned that it would “definitively” separate Ibarra from the campus and that it “strongly disapproved of the acts carried out by Mr. Ibarra.”
During the last year, the midfielder played with Atlas de Guadalajara, a club that did not exercise the purchase option. For the tournament Scream Mexico 2021, the Ecuadorian had an uncertain future. Although he trained with the staff of the first team of America, this was not part of Santiago Solari’s plans. However, after Leonardo Suárez’s injury, a place in the team was opened and his return was forged.
The 30-year-old footballer entered the field at minute 73 to replace Henry Martín. The azulcrema fans cheered intensely for the reappearance of Renato Ibarra, who in the final minutes of the match returned the support of the public and signed the 2-0 in favor of the capital team. On its front page on Monday, August 23, the newspaper Cancha, of Grupo Reforma, published on its front page a photo of Ibarra accompanied by the headline “Coup of authority.”
The publication has generated rejection from communicators and fans alike. According to figures from the Federal Government, only during the first five months of the year 423 femicides were registered in Mexico. In other words, from January to May 423 women were murdered for being women. Impunity and injustice for the aggressors is one of the constants in these crimes. In this context, the Cancha newspaper found it ingenious to publish this headline.
The Versus platform, a non-governmental organization that seeks to combat discrimination of class, gender and race in sports media, brilliantly synthesized the situation with a devastating phrase: “In Mexico you can be denounced for violence against women and not just come back as if Nothing to a wide-ranging platform like professional soccer to be cheered on, you also get covers that celebrate and mock the attempted femicide. “
At the end of the day, the same will happen. The newspaper will publish an apology to force, will promise to sensitize itself on gender issues and will swear and perjure that everything was taken out of proportion and that the cover was not published for that purpose. Some users will defend the publication and say that the freedom of expression of the medium is being limited and that the crystal generation no longer supports what was previously so normalized. And it’s just about this. The new generations no longer let abuses, excesses and mockery pass by. Come from where they come.
Then some other news will come out that takes the spotlight and the discussion to the other side. And the cycle will continue. Violence against women will continue to be as normalized (and celebrated, by some) as it has ever been.