Policy

Brazil soccer association condemns rioters wearing iconic yellow jerseys

by Olafimihan Oshin - 01/09/23 2:19 PM ET

Brazil protests — AP/Eraldo Peres
Protesters, supporters of Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro, stand on the roof of the National Congress building after they stormed it, in Brasilia, Brazil, Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), Brazil’s governing body of professional soccer, has publicly condemned far-right rioters who stormed the country’s government buildings on Sunday for wearing the Brazilian national soccer team’s iconic yellow jerseys.

“The Brazilian national team shirt is a symbol of the joy of our people,” the CBF wrote in a tweet on Monday. “It’s to cheer, energize and love the country.”

The soccer association also said that its national team jerseys, worn by Brazilian soccer legends such as Pelé, Rivaldo, Romário, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Kaka and Paris Saint-German star Neymar, should be used to unite the country instead of separating it.

“The CBF is a non-partisan and democratic entity,” the CBF added. “We encourage that the shirt be used to unite and not divide Brazilians.”

The CBF’s remarks come as thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed Brazil’s Congress, Supreme Court and presidential palace on Sunday in protest of the results of the presidential election, which saw Bolsonaro lose his reelection bid.

The riots invoked the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection in the U.S., in which pro-Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in an effort to stop lawmakers from certifying President Biden’s victory in the 2020 election.

Biden publicly condemned the protests, saying the U.S. will continue to work with Brazil’s newly inaugurated President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and his government in an effort to have the U.S. fully support the country’s democratic institutions.

A slew of US lawmakers also publicly condemned the far-right protests in Brazil, with Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) saying in a tweet that rioters should be held accountable for trying to overthrow their country’s government.

“When Americans show contempt for democracy, the contempt spreads,” Murphy said in his tweet. “Those who are trying overthrow the legitimately elected government in Brazil should be held accountable just like the traitors were here. America stands with @LulaOficial and the rule of law in Brazil.”