Santos goalkeeper Aranha has rejected the idea of a meeting with the Gremio fan who was caught on camera racially abusing him during a Copa do Brasil tie.
Patricia Moreira, 23, held a press conference to express her deep regret at the incident, apologise, as well as state she wanted the chance to meet the 32-year-old stopper.
“Good afternoon. I very much want to apologise to Aranha. I am not a racist. I’m sorry,” she said.
Eight days ago, Santos were 2-0 up against Gremio in the Copa do Brasil when a group of Gremio fans began to racially abuse the Santos goalkeeper.
Aranha alerted the referee to what was going on, and gave a moving interview at the final whistle speaking of his regret and pain at the incident.
Gremio have been punished for the incident and have since been expelled from the competition.
This afternoon, Aranha responded to the youngster’s apology. He said a meeting between the pair was not necessary, and requested more investigation into the incident as a whole. Dozens of Gremio supporters were flagged on television cameras making monkey noises and signs to the goalkeeper, but so far the only person to be positively identified is Patricia Moreira.
