Ex-Corinthians breaks silence after leaked audio about Flamengo’s Danilo | OneFootball

Former Player and Current Commentator, Zé Elias Apologized to Danilo

During ESPN's programming on Thursday (23), when a debate went to a break, former Corinthians player and current commentator Zé Elias said that Danilo is only at Flamengo to “steal.” The phrase was not supposed to be aired, but it went live due to a broadcaster's error. On Friday (24), the former midfielder apologized to the defender.

— What I did yesterday was during a conversation in the break, where I used examples from football, from the game. At no point did I intend to offend Danilo, the Flamengo fans, or the institution itself. I want to make it clear that, for those who are not used to it, it was indeed an inappropriate comment and even sounded offensive. As we were off the air, I used a term from football slang, common in the football world. Even so, I apologize to Danilo. He knows, within this context, what we were talking about, and at no time did I intend to offend him, not even as a person. On the contrary, I have respect for him — said Zé.

— I also apologize to the Flamengo institution and its president. It was a comment within the context of football, with no intention of offending the club. It was an informal conversation, like many that happen between players or people who work in the football field, where this type of term is used. I recognize that the term was inappropriate for those not accustomed to football slang, and therefore, I reinforce my apology. I am sure that Flamengo and Danilo will understand the context — added the commentator.

WHAT IS THE CONTEXT OF ZÉ ELIAS' STATEMENT?

In a roundtable with André Plihal, Osvaldo Pascoal, and Zé Elias, the trio was debating the game between Flamengo and Racing. Then, the program went to a break, and Danilo became the topic. Thus, the first two stated that the defender performed poorly against Palmeiras and the Argentinians. Then, the former Corinthians player said, not knowing it was on air:

“Danilo… If he were doing well, he would be in Europe. The guy comes at the end of his career to steal,” said Zé Elias. Immediately, the mistake spread across social media, and Flamengo fans were outraged by the former player's comment. The Flamengo defender has not spoken publicly about the matter.

HOW IS DANILO DOING?

Criticized by Zé Elias, Danilo is heading into his third consecutive match. After coming on in the first half against Palmeiras and starting against Racing (ARG), the former defender will continue replacing Léo Ortiz this Saturday (25), against Fortaleza, in the Brasileirão. The match kicks off at 7:30 PM (Brasília time), at Arena Castelão.

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