Uruguay defender Alvaro Pereira was handed an "eight-match ban imposed by the Argentine FA." Pereira is "one of 15 players the AFA has sanctioned for their part in a brawl at the end of a friendly" between Argentine first division sides Gimnasia and Estudiantes. Also banned for eight matches "were Estudiantes' former Catania and Argentina goalkeeper Mariano Andujar and striker Nicolas Mazzola of Gimnasia" (REUTERS, 2/4). ... A "hemisphere-wide outbreak of the Zika virus prompted authorities in Peru to fumigate" the Mansiche football stadium ahead of Cesar Vallejo's Copa Libertadores match against São Paulo. São Paulo's team doctor "was also questioned about his players' health when the Brazilian squad entered the Andean nation the day before the game, which ended 1-1" (REUTERS, 2/4). ... Serie A side Lazio faces the prospect of playing its next two games with part of the Stadio Olimpico closed "after racist chanting overshadowed their 2-0 defeat to Napoli on Wednesday." The Serie A fixture "had to be stopped for several minutes by the referee after Lazio fans constantly barracked Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly with racial taunts and monkey noises" (ESPN, 2/4).
