Defender Gustavo Marques of Red Bull Bragantino made misogynistic comments against referee Daiane Muniz after his team's elimination by São Paulo in the Paulistão quarterfinals on February 21, 2026. The club repudiated the statements and announced it will punish the player, while the Federação Paulista de Futebol condemned the incident and will refer it to the Justiça Desportiva.
On February 21, 2026, Red Bull Bragantino was eliminated in the Paulistão quarterfinals after losing 2-1 to São Paulo in Bragança Paulista. Gustavo Marques, the 24-year-old defender who scored for the home team, criticized referee Daiane Muniz in a post-match interview with TNT Sports, attributing errors to her gender.
"First of all, I want to talk about the refereeing. Because it doesn't make sense for us to play against São Paulo, Palmeiras, Corinthians and for them to put a woman to referee a game of this size. I think she wasn't honest", Marques said. He added that the Federação Paulista de Futebol (FPF) should not assign a woman to important matches and that Daiane "doesn't have the capacity" for it.
The club responded swiftly with an official statement, repudiating the comments and stating it does not tolerate discriminatory behavior. "We know that the weight of an elimination is frustrating, but nothing justifies what was said. Whether in football or in any part of society. The club will study the punishment to be applied to the athlete in the coming days", the note said. Still at the stadium, Marques and sporting director Diego Cerri personally apologized to the refereeing team.
The FPF issued a statement condemning the remarks as "macho, prejudiced, and misogynistic", praising Daiane Muniz's technical quality as an FPF/CBF/FIFA referee, and announcing it will refer the case to the Justiça Desportiva for appropriate measures.
Later in the mixed zone, Marques apologized: "I'm here to ask forgiveness from all women in the world, in Brazil. I said things I shouldn't have at that moment". He reported that Daiane accepted the apology, advising him to be more careful with his words.
São Paulo's midfielder Lucas Moura, scorer of the second goal, defended the refereeing: "We have to help the referees more. [...] She makes mistakes and gets it right for both sides".
