Marcos apologises to Hugo Souza and fiancée after reaction to racist abuse | OneFootball

Palmeiras idol Marcos has apologised to Corinthians goalkeeper Hugo Souza and his fiancée, Rauany Barcellos, after his social media reaction to a post about racist abuse aimed at the player.

According to Meu Timao, Marcos replied with laughing emojis and the initials “PQP” to a post on Monday referencing insults from Portuguesa fans at Canindé on Sunday after Corinthians reached the Campeonato Paulista semi-finals.

Rauany challenged him on Instagram, defending her partner and questioning why he found the episode amusing given the nature of the abuse.

Marcos later said he had only skimmed the post and thought it was rival banter, then apologised to Rauany and Hugo Souza and added it would not happen again.

Hugo was targeted as he left the pitch, with slurs including “favelado”, “sem dente”, “passa fome” and “piolhento”, and he was told to cut his hair.

Portuguesa condemned the behaviour and is working to identify those responsible, apply sanctions and cooperate with authorities. Corinthians also issued a strong condemnation, calling the terms historically linked to structural racism and incompatible with sport and society. On the pitch, Hugo saved a penalty in normal time and two in the shootout to seal the semi-final spot.

The incident came amid a wider spate of cases, including Vinícius Júnior being abused by Benfica’s Prestianni in the Champions League, Denílson Jr suffering similar in Thailand, Premier League players sharing racist messages, and Coritiba’s Lucas Ronier receiving monkey emojis and “Fora de Curitiba, Macaco” on Instagram.

Source: Meu Timao