Gabigol apologises for wearing Corinthians shirt

Brazilian striker Gabriel Barbosa apologised for wearing the Corinthians shirt at a private meeting at his home and vowed he would not do it again after Flamengo fined him and stripped him of his No.10 shirt.

"I was wrong, I apologise, but it was an act I didn't think about that much. I didn't know all this was going to happen. I would never use a shirt to disrespect the Flamengo fans," Gabigol said in an interview with 'UOL' on Sunday.

The controversy stemmed from a leaked photo of the forward wearing a Corinthians shirt during a barbecue at his home with club workers. Gabigol initially claimed it was a hoax but the photo was later found to be genuine.

In the wake of the uproar among the fans, the board decided to impose a financial fine and remove the iconic number 10 from his back.

The former Santos player confessed that he was "very perplexed" by the photo leak and that his first reaction was to "deny" what had happened. "I collect jerseys, I change them, whether they are national team jerseys, basketball jerseys, and I ended up getting that jersey and I wore it," he explained.

He also claimed that he only wore the Corinthians shirt because he was in the "intimacy" of his home in a "totally relaxed, unarmed, calm" moment and with people he considers "friends". "I love Flamengo, my home is in Rio de Janeiro. I'm sure a photo is not going to change that," he declared.