Roger Flores made a controversial statement about the threats that Guilherme Arana has suffered after losing the Copa Libertadores title to Botafogo.
Since the defeat, the Atlético-MG player had been receiving threats from fans on social media, which were exposed by his wife on social media. Roger Flores spoke about the matter on Sportv.
What is Roger Flores’ controversial statement about the threat received by Guilherme Arana?
Roger Flores commented on Arana’s threats during a program on Sportv. In his statement, he said that this cannot happen, but that the player would have done the same to him after the semi-final of the Copa do Brasil between Vasco and Atlético.
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— This message is for a guy who is at a very high level, plays a lot and doesn’t need to do what he did. It’s Guilherme Arana, from Atlético. Today, he suffered attacks on social media. This cannot happen. I sympathize with Arana regarding these attacks. However, Arana, you did this to me after a Brazilian Cup semi-final between Vasco and Atlético — said the former player.
Roger Flores alluded to a post made by the player in October. In it, Arana shot at the commentator with a reference to a move between the former player and defender Lúcio, for the Brazilian team.
— Roger Flores, keep talking shit and I’ll call Lúcio to give you another shit. #Final — wrote Arana at the time.
After the Libertadores final, Roger Flores brought the matter up, saying that his role was to comment, regardless of whether he was playing well or not.
— My role is to comment. I have to talk about whether you are playing well or badly, but never disrespectful. In that game, I said that Atlético’s left side wasn’t working well. It didn’t go beyond that. I praised you much more times than I criticized you. Probably, due to a pile of one or the other, you posted citing my name. I don’t know if it was to make fun of the fans, inciting violence. It was a bad joke — continued the former athlete.
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During his argument, the commentator also said that Arana “incited violence” and that “he would be feeling it today.”
— You incited violence. Today, he’s feeling it on his skin, which I think is very wrong. Attitudes, when you do it with someone else, can come back to you. I have nothing against you, I think you are a great player. It’s just a message to make you think a little when you want to incite violence towards someone else, even a professional colleague of yours — he concluded.
After Guilherme Arana suffered threats on social media, Roger Flores sends a message to the Atlético-MG full-back on Sportv:
“This message is for a guy who is at a very high level, plays a lot and doesn’t need to do what he did. It’s Guilherme Arana, from Atlético. Today, he suffered…
— Planet of Football 🌎 (@futebol_info)
What threats did Arana receive?
Gabriela Melchior, wife of full-back Guilherme Arana, revealed that the family and the player were being targeted by threats after the defeat in the continental final. Among these would be offensive messages and even talking about the athlete’s death.
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— For people like you [quem enviou a mensagem]I hope God forgives you, and I hope we can use social media in a more respectful way. Football ends when the referee blows the whistle, and here in this space I talk about: family, motherhood, spirituality and myself. I hope you can respect that — wrote the player’s wife.
In the first half of the decision, the left-back was involved in a decisive move. When trying to protect a play, Arana ended up not clearing the ball, which resulted in the sequence that led to Everson’s penalty on Luiz Henrique. The action was the target of strong criticism from Galo fans.
