Journalist Gabriel Anello sparked a strong controversy after making racist and violent comments against Juan Román Riquelme, president of Boca Juniors, during a broadcast on Radio Mitre. Anello's statements directly targeted Riquelme's social, educational, and racial background, with assertions such as: “I have a culture that the ignorant, the ones who don't go to school like Riquelme, are ignorant blacks.” He also dismissed the existence of INADI and questioned colleagues who, according to him, were 'pressured' by human rights organizations, mentioning Martín Arévalo and Marcelo Nasarala.
Anello's outburst was classified as a serious case of media violence, highlighting the lack of regulation and control in some high-rating spaces. So far, Radio Mitre has not issued any official statement, and the journalist has not apologized publicly. Various sectors are calling for urgent intervention from regulatory bodies and explicit condemnation from the sports journalism community.
The background of the conflict, according to media analysts, is also linked to the rejection from parts of the media ecosystem towards Riquelme, a popular ex-footballer who governs Boca without intermediaries with major media groups. “I am not anti-Boca, I am anti-Riquelme,” Anello concluded in his intervention, generating backlash on social media and highlighting media impunity in the treatment of public figures from popular sectors. The statements reignited the debate on the limits of freedom of expression and the responsibility of the media.
“Blacks are called blacks, browns are called browns, and the ignorant are called ignorant,” said Anello, who also insulted Riquelme by calling him “donkey,” “ignorant,” and “greengrocer,” culminating his intervention with a threat: “Riquelme, Mancilla 2668, fists at the door.” According to Noticias Argentinas, the journalist did not receive any objections from his colleagues on air, including Federico 'El Negro' Bulos, who was sharing the microphone at that moment.
