Racism storm earns restaurant official visit
A COSTA del ESTE pizza restaurant , in the eye of a storm over an alleged act of racism was visited by Panama Authorities on Monday, March 21.
The Consumer Protection Authority and the Ombudsman’s Office held an inspection of the Brava Pizza & Espuma restaurant as a result of a widely reported incident involving four players of the national under17 soccer team
The players were denied entry to the restaurant Friday Mar. 17.
Ombudsman Alfredo Castillero and Authority Administrator Óscar García said that there are laws in place to prevent discrimination.
According to the law, the reservation of the right of admission can be invoked when the person is drunk, has drugs or weapons or is not properly dressed. Castillero commented that his office has received 12 formal complaints from people who feel discriminated against because they were not allowed to enter a business so far this year.
Violators can be fined up to $25,000. Ivan Kourany, a partner at the restaurant, explained that the employee involved in the incident was fired.
“We would like to apologize publicly for what happened. No human being should be discriminated against because of their race, nationality, religion or ideology,” Kourany said in a statement.
Brava Pizza & Espuma also published an apology on social networks
