Hugo Souza condemns racist abuse and urges rigorous investigation by authorities | OneFootball

Hugo Souza condemned racist abuse from Portuguesa supporters after Corinthians reached the Paulistão semi-finals, urging a rigorous investigation by the authorities.

The incident happened on Sunday 22 at Canindé as he headed to the dressing room after starring in the penalty shootout. At least two fans used slurs including “favelado” and “piolhento”, plus comments about his hair and teeth. Military police were present and the abuse continued until another supporter intervened.

The player said in a post that racism is a crime that must be taken seriously and cannot be minimised, normalised or ignored. He rejected any discriminatory behaviour, calling for football to be a space of passion, competition and unity. He asked for the case to be handled with legal rigour and for exemplary measures.

Corinthians asked the FPF to take action. Portuguesa expressed solidarity with the goalkeeper and promised punishment for the prejudiced remarks. The Federação Paulista lamented the episode and awaits the authorities’ investigation.

In Brazil, injúria racial is defined by Law 14.532 of 2023 when the offence targets an individual. It carries a prison term of two to five years, plus a fine.

Souza saved three penalties, two of them in the decisive round, to send Corinthians into the last four to face Novorizontino on Saturday. The team are next in action against Cruzeiro at Mineirão on Wednesday 25 at 20:00, in the fourth round of the Brasileirão.

Source: Meu Timao