Police charge two Portuguesa fans over racist abuse of Hugo Souza | OneFootball

São Paulo Civil Police concluded the investigation and charged two Portuguesa fans for racist insults directed at Corinthians goalkeeper Hugo Souza. The incident took place on February 22, shortly after the black-and-white team qualified for the semifinals of the Paulista Championship.

According to information released by ge.globo, Sérgio de Jesus Paiva and Vinicius Cardoso Cannavina were charged with racial injury, a crime punishable by two to five years in prison. During the episode, the player was targeted with insults such as “slum dweller” and “lousy,” as well as expressions like “cut that hair” and “toothless,” according to footage released by Jovem Pan Esportes.

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Ag. Corinthians

Hugo Souza gave a statement to the authorities and confirmed the insults, classifying the content as racist. The accused, meanwhile, claimed they had no intention of discriminating against the athlete and denied any prejudiced nature in their remarks.

The investigation was led by officer Cesar Saad, who is in charge of the Police Unit for the Repression of Sports Intolerance Crimes (Drade). With the investigation now closed, the material was sent to the São Paulo Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP-SP), which will decide whether to file charges or close the case.

After the incident, Corinthians demanded action from the Paulista Football Federation. Portuguesa, in turn, expressed support for the goalkeeper and announced the expulsion of those involved from the club’s membership roster.

On the field, Hugo Souza delivered a decisive performance in that match, saving three penalty kicks, two of them in the final attempts, and securing Corinthians’ qualification. Later in the tournament, Timão was eventually eliminated by Novorizontino.

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