According to ESPN Brazil, Corinthians goalkeeper Hugo Souza has accused Rosario Central of racial discrimination during the first leg of their Copa Libertadores Round of 16 match on Thursday. Rosario Central has issued a statement in response to the allegations.

After the match, Hugo Souza told ESPN in an interview at the Estadio Gigante de Arroyito that he had been verbally abused by Rosario Central fans and called a "monkey."

[Corinthians goalkeeper: Rosario Central fans called me "monkey" and "n****r" throughout the entire game.]

On Friday, Rosario Central released a statement on social media questioning the accusation and demanding evidence to prove that the incident actually occurred.

Full statement from Rosario Central

Rosario Central once again strongly condemns all acts of racism, discrimination, and provocation in football matches.

On Thursday, local time, we played Corinthians in the Copa Libertadores Round of 16 at the Estadio Gigante de Arroyito. In our view, the visiting fans engaged in racist, discriminatory, and provocative behavior toward Central players and our fans during and after the match.

Among these actions, away fans repeatedly displayed Argentine currency notes, clearly insulting and mocking our country. In addition, they displayed a Spanish national team jersey, which was another provocation directed at our fans.

These behaviors are unacceptable and serious, and we cannot become accustomed to them.

Our club has relevant evidence and will submit it to CONMEBOL in the hope that it will intervene against these recurring behaviors. We believe these actions are clearly provocative and discriminatory, and unfortunately, this situation repeats itself every time we face certain Brazilian teams.

Meanwhile, we will also request that CONMEBOL launch an investigation and ask the match referee to provide relevant evidence to irrefutably substantiate the allegations of abuse and racial discrimination made by the Corinthians goalkeeper during the match.

In this regard, it is necessary to consider the context of the match when the player made the accusation: his team had just been reduced to 10 men after a player was sent off, while Rosario Central was attacking with the support of the home fans.

Discrimination is an extremely serious issue and should not be used as a means to serve sporting interests. We will file charges against anyone who attempts to use discrimination for this purpose.

Regarding this alleged incident, we have not yet found any video evidence that proves such behavior occurred in the area of the stadium where the goalkeeper made the accusation.

Nevertheless, Rosario Central is still conducting an internal investigation into any acts of violence or discrimination that may have occurred during the match. If the investigation finds that Rosario Central fans were involved in punishable behavior, the club will take the appropriate measures.

Rosario Central invests significant resources in efforts to prevent and combat all forms of discrimination within the club. We do this not out of obligation, but out of conviction.

In the future, we will continue to redouble our efforts to build a club that upholds these values.

Finally, we cannot help but express our concern about a recurring phenomenon. We believe it is necessary to reflect on this: some clubs seem to try to gain a competitive advantage by constantly threatening to report and intimidate opponents, while such behavior is not punished as it should be.

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