Corinthians have rescinded the contract of defender Danilo Avelar after he made a racist comment during an online match on the video game Counter-Strike.
The incident took place on Tuesday, as the 32-year-old labelled another gamer a derogatory term for black people in Brazil, before Corinthians released a statement declaring their decision.
"Corinthians are in contact with player Danilo Avelar and his representatives to discuss and formalise the appropriate measures to end the player's contract," read the club statement.
Avelar came in for widespread criticism on social media, as Corinthians' fans asked the club hierarchy to terminate his contract, which had been set to expire in December 2022.
The defender released a statement on Wednesday apologising for his actions.
"In one of the matches I was offended by a foreign player for being Brazilian," read Avelar's statement.
"I lost my head, but I unfortunately made the situation worse: I committed a grave error of writing a sentence with a racist connotation to an opponent. I was wrong, I made a mistake and I am deeply ashamed about it.
"In our society we have to abolish any form of racism. I would like to say how sorry I am, without exception, but above all to the Afro-descendant community."
Arrived at the club in 2019
Corinthians have decided to terminate Avelar's contract, who had played at Schalke, Cagliari, Torino and Amiens before moving to the club.
"Corinthians reaffirm that they condemn any form of racist connotations, in line with the club's history of defending equality and democracy," continued the club's statement.