Alejandro Dominguez, the president of South American soccer body CONMEBOL, apologised for his remarks comparing Brazilian clubs to a chimpanzee from Tarzan films. Domínguez told journalists after the Copa Libertadores draw in Paraguay that the South American club tournament without Brazilian teams that have dominated it in recent years would be “like Tarzan without Cheetah.”

“Regarding my recent statement, I want to express my apologies,” Domínguez said in a statement. “The expression I used is a popular phrase and I never intended to belittle or discredit anyone. The CONMEBOL Libertadores is unthinkable without the participation of clubs from the 10 member countries. I reaffirm my commitment to continue working for a fairer, more united soccer, free from discrimination.”

CONMEBOL has been under increased pressure to act decisively against racism. Moments before his comment to journalists, Domínguez spoke in Portuguese and claimed CONMEBOL has worked hard to stop racism. Several Brazilian players and fans have been targeted by monkey chants at away matches in recent years, which has also brought more pressure on the confederation’s president to act.

The most recent case took place on March 6, when Palmeiras U-20 striker Luighi spoke with tears in his eyes about racism he had endured from fans of Paraguay’s Cerro Porteno in a U-20 Copa Libertadores match. Later, CONMEBOL fined the club in $50,000 and banned its supporters from attending the tournament, which Brazilian clubs saw as a timid punishment.

Domínguez, who is from Paraguay, said in prepared remarks at the draw that his is sensitive to “Luighi’s pain.”

“Our challenge is to be fair to those who are responsible for these acts,” Domínguez said. “CONMEBOL applies sanctions and does everything in its power to change this reality. But it is not enough.”

Brazil midfielder Bruno Guimarães criticized Domínguez during a press conference ahead of his team’s World Cup qualifying match against Colombia on Thursday.

“The president of CONMEBOL has a lot more to worry about that doing that kind of joke. We saw what happened in Luighi’s case, the punishment given to Cerro Porteno was a tremendous lack of respect,” Guimaraes said in Brasilia. “Wearing Brazil’s shirt and speaking about CONMEBOL can bring me some punishment. They have more important things to worry about.”

Palmeiras president Leila Pereira said she “barely believed that Dominguez’ statement was true.”

“I thought the video had been manipulated by AI. Maybe not even AI would be able to produce such a disastrous statement,” Pereira told journalists.