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

Palmeiras idol Marcos has apologised to Hugo Souza and the Corinthians goalkeeper’s fiancée, Rauany Barcellos, after his reaction to posts about racist abuse. According to Meu Timao, the former goalkeeper had earlier replied with smiling emojis and the initials "PQP" beneath a report on the incident.

The abuse occurred on Sunday at Estádio do Canindé, after Corinthians reached the Paulista semi-final. As he left the pitch, two Portuguesa fans shouted slurs at Hugo, including "favelado", "sem dente", "passa fome", "piolhento" and "vai cortar esse cabelo".

Rauany challenged Marcos on Instagram, saying he was mocking a serious matter and asking whether he or his children had faced prejudice over appearance, hair, skin colour or social class. She defended Hugo and questioned the reason for Marcos’s laughter.

Marcos later clarified that he had skimmed the post and taken it as routine rival banter, then apologised to Rauany and Hugo, adding it would not happen again.

Portuguesa condemned the acts, saying it is working to identify those responsible, apply sanctions and cooperate with authorities. Corinthians also denounced the abuse, stressing the language used is historically tied to structural racism and is incompatible with sport and society.

On the pitch, Hugo was pivotal in the tie, saving a penalty in normal time and two more in the shootout to seal Corinthians’ place in the semi-finals. It came in a week of other incidents, with Vinícius Júnior abused by Benfica’s Prestianni and Coritiba’s Lucas Ronier sent monkey emojis alongside a slur.

Source: Meu Timao