The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) has taken action against racial abuse directed at defender Robert Renan following a U20 World Cup match, announcing on Wednesday that it has lodged a protest with FIFA, the international governing body of football.

The incident occurred at the Ciudad de la Plata stadium in Argentina, where Brazil emerged victorious in a 4-1 win against Tunisia in the Round of 16 of the competition. According to the CBF, Renan faced derogatory remarks as he left the pitch.

Renan was sent off late in the first half and was subsequently subjected to racial slurs on social media. Renan himself shared screenshots of the offensive messages he received on Instagram, which included insults, monkey emojis, and even a death threat.

"The profiles of the racist social media users have already been reported to the CBF and will be submitted to local courts and FIFA with a request for appropriate punishment," stated the CBF.

The CBF vehemently condemned any form of discrimination in football and declared its zero-tolerance policy towards such incidents in the sport. It highlighted that it is the first football organization to include provisions in its regulations enabling the sanctioning of clubs in cases of racism.

Previously the CBF announced that the men's national team will take part in friendlies with African countries as the nation attempts to raise awareness against racism after their star football player Vinicius Junior faced racial abuse during a La Liga game between Valencia CF and Real Madrid.

The Brazilian national team is set to play against Guinea in Barcelona, Spain on June 17 and Senegal in Lisbon, Portugal on June 20.

The CBF's recently elected president Ednaldo Rodrigues launched a campaign against racial abuse targeted against players dubbed "There is no game with racism", which has worked on pushing for new legislation that hosts more severe punishments against racism in Brazilian football stadiums.

“We want Brazil to lead the fight against racism worldwide,” Rodrigues told Reuters earlier in March.