Rosario Central hits back at Corinthians after racism row over Hugo Souza | OneFootball

Corinthians faced Rosario Central of Argentina at the Gigante de Arroyito Stadium on the night of last Thursday (13) in the first leg of the 2026 Conmebol Libertadores round of 16 and were held to a goalless draw. If the second leg also ends level, the tie will be decided on penalties.

The match between the two teams was marked by an episode of racism directed at Corinthians goalkeeper Hugo Souza by the opposing fans. The match referee, Andrés Matonte (URU), even activated Conmebol’s racism protocol. This Friday (14), nearly a day after the match ended, Rosario Central published an official statement pushing back against Corinthians’ version of the discriminatory acts and, at the same time, questioning the behavior of the Corinthians fans present at the stadium.

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians

In its version, Rosario Central claims that Corinthians fans made provocations aimed at the Argentine supporters before and during the match. The statement says Corinthians fans displayed peso banknotes in a mocking reference to Argentina’s economic situation and showed a Spain jersey, the team that beat Argentina in the 2026 World Cup final, 1-0.

The Rosario club stressed that it will gather the recorded material and send the images to Conmebol to formally file a complaint. Corinthians’ opponent also argues that Hugo Souza’s action was a strategic move by the goalkeeper to relieve the pressure Corinthians were under at that point in the match. Despite the objections, the Argentine club says it has launched an internal investigation to determine whether discriminatory acts did in fact occur. If those responsible are identified, the institution guarantees that the proper punishments will be applied.

After the match, Corinthians published a statement demanding appropriate action from the organizer of the Libertadores, namely Conmebol, as well as a deeper investigation into the episode. In an interview with ESPN Brasil after the final whistle, the Black-and-White team’s No. 1 detailed the abuse he received.

“Unfortunately, every time we come here it’s like this, the whole game, as if it were something normal, which it can’t be. The entire game they’re calling me monkey, mono, shitty Black man. This is something that happens frequently here. The only thing I can do is report it to the referee, because unfortunately it’s something that happens frequently here. What you have to do is try to keep your head in the game and hope that one day this changes,” he said.

Corinthians and Rosario Central will meet again next Thursday (20) at 9:30 p.m. Brasília time at Neo Química Arena for the second leg of the Conmebol Libertadores round of 16. If Timão advances to the quarterfinals, they will face Estudiantes-ARG or Universidad Católica, who drew 1-1 in the first leg in Argentina.

Before the decisive match, Corinthians will return to the field in the Brazilian Championship. This Sunday (16) at 7:30 p.m. Brasília time, Timão will host Cruzeiro at Neo Química Arena in the 23rd round of the national competition. Unbeaten in their last six matches in the tournament, the Black-and-Whites are looking to keep climbing the table, as they currently sit seventh with 32 points — eight wins, eight draws and six losses — with 24 goals scored and 20 conceded.

Conmebol protocol against racism

After Andrés Matonte activated the protocol, Di María asked Rosario Central fans to stop directing insults at the goalkeeper. Shortly afterward, the stadium announcer also warned those in attendance.

This week, Conmebol launched the “Manual for the Identification and Prevention of Discriminatory Conduct in South American Football.” The material presents concepts, statistics, examples of behavior and recommendations to prevent acts like these. The anti-racism protocol is divided into three stages. In the first, the officiating team receives a report made by the player or a member of the refereeing crew and, as a result, interrupts the match.

The referee himself, if he witnesses such an act, may initiate the procedure. In the second phase, the referee communicates the stoppage and suspension of the match, along with a message on the stadium screen and an announcement from the stadium speaker. If the insults from the stands continue, the officiating team ends the match. After that, the team linked to the player or fan responsible for the act may be punished with a forfeit loss, following analysis and judgment by Conmebol.

Read Rosario Central-ARG’s full official statement below:

Rosario Central once again emphatically repudiates every act of racism, discrimination, and provocation in the context of a football match.

On the night of yesterday, Thursday (13), in the match against Corinthians played at our Gigante de Arroyito Stadium for the CONMEBOL Libertadores round of 16, fans of the visiting team engaged in acts that, in our view, were racist, discriminatory, and provocative toward Central’s players and our supporters, incidents that occurred during the match and also after its conclusion. In this regard, it is worth referring to the repeated display of national currency notes, which constitutes a clear insult and mockery of our country; added to this was the display of a Spain shirt, in another act of provocation toward our crowd.

These facts are unacceptable and of a seriousness that we must not normalize.

Our club has evidence that it will make available to CONMEBOL so that it may intervene in the face of these repeated acts, which we consider clearly provocative and discriminatory, and which unfortunately are repeated every time we have to face some Brazilian teams.

Likewise, we will ask CONMEBOL to investigate and require from the match referee the evidence that irrefutably supports the alleged insults and racist acts that the Corinthians goalkeeper unilaterally reported during the game. In this regard, it is worth mentioning the context in which the said player made his report: it occurred just after his team had been reduced to ten men due to a sending-off, and at a moment when Central were attacking, driven on by their crowd. Discrimination is far too serious an issue to be used as a device in the service of sporting convenience, and we are prepared to report those who seek to make use of it for that purpose.

With regard to this reported incident, we have still not found any images of acts of that nature in the area of the field where the goalkeeper was located at the time he made the report.

Without prejudice to the above, Rosario Central is carrying out an internal investigation into any act of violence or discrimination that may have occurred on the occasion of the aforementioned match. If, within the scope of that review, any Rosario Central supporter involved in conduct subject to punishment appears, the club will be relentless in applying the corresponding measures. Rosario Central devotes every type of resource to eliminating and discouraging any form of discrimination within our institution, and we do so not out of obligation, but out of conviction. We will continue on that path, redoubling efforts to keep building a club that defends these values.

Lastly, we cannot fail to highlight our concern regarding a recurring pattern that we believe needs to be exposed, concerning the impunity of certain clubs in seeking to gain a sporting advantage through the постоян threat of reporting and intimidating the opponent of the moment.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.