Corinthians keeper slams Derby refereeing and praises Fernando Diniz | OneFootball

Corinthians hosted Palmeiras on Sunday night (12) at Neo Química Arena, in a match valid for the 11th round of the 2026 Brazilian Championship, and ended up with a 0-0 draw. The result extended the Corinthians side’s poor run in the national competition. Currently, Alvinegro has not won in eight rounds and sits in 16th place with 11 points – two wins, five draws, and four defeats – with eight goals scored and 11 conceded.

In an interview with Record/Cazé TV after the final whistle, goalkeeper Hugo Souza criticized the officiating in the Derby, led by Flávio Rodrigues de Souza. During the 90 minutes, Corinthians had two players sent off – defensive midfielder André Luiz and right-back Matheuzinho. The Corinthians No. 1 said the whistle was going “only one way.”

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Corinthians Agency

Hugo Souza also praised the team’s fight on the field, as even with two men down, they held the score and could still have opened the scoring. Late in the second half, Yuri Alberto went one-on-one with Carlos Miguel but ended up shooting straight at the Palmeiras goalkeeper.

“Talking about refereeing is already exhausting. Every time we come here and talk about refereeing. Today the referee was very important in the game because it was clear that he officiated for only one team. Actually, we came for the three points. We knew how important those three points would be for us, but given what happened in the game, we had to adapt and fight until the end. It’s not what we wanted, but it shows the strength we have.”

He continued: “But we fought like crazy, we gave everything, Yuri (Alberto) could barely walk because of how much cramp he had in both legs. We had to adapt to the game, we played a hell of a match, Palmeiras had very few clear chances to score. The clearest chances were ours. That shows the strength of our team.”

Lastly, the Corinthians goalkeeper did not hold back in praising head coach Fernando Diniz. Announced last Tuesday (7), he made his debut last Thursday (9), in Alvinegro’s away win over Platense of Argentina, in the opening round of the 2026 Conmebol Libertadores group stage.

“(Fernando Diniz) is a great coach. We’re very excited to start putting his ideas into practice on the field. We’re already managing to do that in training. Today, at the start of the second half, we were able to move the ball well and really trouble the opposing team, and now we’re going to work so that this becomes consistent throughout the match. (…) We’re upset about what the referee did to the game today, but satisfied with our team and our unity,” he concluded.

After drawing with Palmeiras in Itaquera in the Brasileirão, Corinthians now turns its focus to the Conmebol Libertadores group stage. That is because next Wednesday (15), at 9:30 p.m. (Brasília time), Alvinegro will face Independiente Santa Fé of Colombia at Neo Química Arena in the second round of the international competition.

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