In the early afternoon of this Friday (01), the president of the red-black club Eduardo Bandeira de Mello, alongside the club's communications director Márcio Mac Culloch, gave a press conference in the Victorino Chermont Press Room, at Ninho do Urubu, to discuss the matter published in Jornal Extra in this Friday's edition regarding goalkeeper Alex Muralha.

Firstly, the president highlighted all the discontent on the part of Clube de Regatas do Flamengo, represented in his figure, regarding the disrespectful tone of the cover of the newspaper in question.

"I wanted to express my outrage, which is not just mine, but that of all of us here at Flamengo, the athletes, employees, and all the fans who have spoken out to me so far, regarding the disrespect shown to the institution and the athlete in this Extra article. I've been speaking out for some time now demanding respect for Flamengo and its athletes in mocking articles and appearances on programs. I've been misinterpreted and had my statements distorted, but nothing comes close to what happened today," he said. 

The club's president then recalled that, beyond the professional aspect, there's also the human aspect of a goalkeeper. "We're talking about a human being who has a son, a father, and a mother, like all of us here, who was the victim of a cowardly act. I think that at a time when all of us, including the press, are committed to ending violence in football, a story like today's only serves to incite violent emotions and actions. If anything happens to Alex Muralha because of this, I hope those responsible feel at least a little sad, because what was done is absolutely unacceptable," he stated.

Bandeira de Mello also clarified that no sanctions will be applied to the media outlet responsible for the article, but he does suggest a reflection on the tone in which the number 38 was treated. "At no point do I criticize freedom of opinion or freedom of the press. Flamengo has always valued this. We will never restrict your work, including that of the media outlet responsible for this article, much less regarding technical opinions about our players, the team's work, and my work. Everyone has the right to their opinion. What I'm putting here is simply a repudiation at a time when all of this is being exaggerated and the situation is veering towards mockery and disrespect, both for the institution and for human beings," he added.

Márcio Mac Culloch, communications director for Mais Querido, then commented on the incident. "I think it's up to the club's communications department, and I personally, to speak out. If there's one thing I'm proud of about Flamengo in this regard, it's the honest relationship we have with all the media outlets and colleagues who are here every day covering the club. This relationship will continue to be good, because I think that's how it should be. Flamengo is a democratic club, also in its dealings with the press," commented Márcio, who then spoke about the case.

"I respect criticism; it's part of the game, and what we think today is that there was an exaggeration of irony, a shift in tone in relation to the article and, more specifically, the cover. This isn't about defending one athlete or another. It's the club's role to speak out whenever it believes club professionals are being treated unfairly, and communications will always try to do so in the best possible way. This is another way to explain our position regarding what happened and hope that things like this don't happen again," he concluded.