I apologize to Abel and the Portuguese community :: zerozero.pt

The “white flag” has been raised in the controversy involving Carlos Belmonte and Abel Ferreira. Accused of xenophobia against the Portuguese coach, São Paulo’s football director publicly retracted his words, in an apology addressed to the Portuguese coach, the Portuguese community and Palmeiras.

«I will apologize to coach Abel Ferreira. In the heat of the end of the match between São Paulo and Palmeiras, I ended up saying an inappropriate sentence. Therefore, I apologize to coach Abel Ferreira, also to Palmeiras, an important institution in Brazilian football, and to the Portuguese community. At that moment, I tried to identify the coach, Abel Ferreira, to the referee, but, again, the sentence was inappropriate”, said the Tricolor Paulista director.

Remember that Carlos Belmonte called Abel Ferreira “shit Portuguese” at the end of the match that resulted in a draw (1-1)between São Paulo and Palmeiras.

O Verdão cataloged the episode as an act of xenophobia, with the coach having left the possibility of suing the opposing director was in the air at the end of last Saturday’s match.

Once this new chapter unfolds, time will tell if the waters calm down…