SAO PAULO, Brazil -- The director of a prominent soccer team
insinuates on national television that a player on a rival team is
gay. The player sues for slander and goes on TV to deny it. A judge
causes an uproar by saying gays don't belong in Brazilian soccer.
With a narrative like a Latin American soap opera, the flap over
the sexual orientation of Sao Paulo midfielder Richarlyson has
shaken the hallowed and macho institution of Brazilian soccer.
The commotion started in June when Palmeiras club director Jose
Cyrillo Junior was asked on TV whether it was true that a soccer
player from his team was negotiating for an exclusive television
interview to announce he was gay.
Cyrillo denied the report, but added "Richarlyson 'almost'
played for Palmeiras," suggesting the 24-year-old player was gay.
Cyrillo later apologized, but Richarlyson -- whose father played
professionally and whose brother played in Portugal and is now with
Brazil's Cruzeiro -- filed a criminal complaint for slander.
Judge Manoel Maximiano Junqueira Filho stoked the dispute by
dismissing Richarlyson's claim and issuing a ruling that suggested
he leave the game if he were gay. If he weren't, the judge said,
Richarlyson was obliged to defend himself on the same TV program.
"Not that a homosexual can't play soccer," Filho wrote. "He
can, but he must form his own team and federation, setting up
matches with those who want to play against him."
The judge concluded it is not "reasonable to accept homosexuals
in Brazilian soccer because it would hurt the uniformity present"
in team sport. Soccer, the judge said, is a "virile game" but
"not homosexual," and allowing gays could lead to affirmative
action for the sport requiring quotas of gays.
The ruling prompted the government body that oversees judicial
ethics in Brazil to demand an explanation from the judge, who has
until Friday to respond.
The judge, who did not respond to repeated requests for
interviews, abruptly voided his initial ruling last week, saying a
different court has jurisdiction. Then he took a leave of absence
beginning Monday with no date for a return.
Gay rights groups were outraged but said the controversy has
forced the issue into the open in a country where gays generally
are tolerated, but usually not in soccer and often ridiculed.
"It was a fascist statement and (the judge) needs to pay for
it," said Marcelo Cerqueira, president of the Grupo Gay da Bahia.
He said there are several gays in Brazil's pro league, but they
fear disclosing their sexual orientation over losing their jobs.
"This case is important to uncover the issue about gays in
soccer, to create debate," Cerqueira said.
There have been no public declarations of homosexuality by
Brazilian league players. Some well-known players have posed nude
in gay magazines, but none acknowledged being gay. Among them were
World Cup veteran Vampeta, former Sao Paulo goalkeeper Roger and,
most recently, Vitoria goalkeeper Rafael Cordova.
Cordova said there are gays in the Brazilian league, and he
sympathizes with their situation. But after the announcement that
he will appear naked in an upcoming issue of Brazil's "G
Magazine," many fans vilified him even though he says he is
heterosexual.
"The fans want me fired," Cordova told Veja newsmagazine last
week. "We lost three matches in a row and who do you think they
are putting the blame on?"
The judge's pronouncement surprised some accustomed to the
sport's masculine ethos.
"Soccer is a macho sport anywhere in the world, but we know
there are homosexual players, just like there are homosexuals in
other professions," columnist and TV commentator Antero Greco
said. "But sexual orientation should never be a problem as long as
the person is competent at what he or she does."
Richarlyson, who has played for four Brazilian clubs and with
Red Bull Salzburg in Austria, declined for months to say whether he
was gay. Finally, he went on Brazil's most popular weekly news and
entertainment program to say he is heterosexual.
"If I was (gay), I wouldn't have any problems admitting it,"
he said on the Fantastico TV program Sunday night.
Richarlyson Barbosa Felisbino -- like many Brazilian soccer
players he goes by one name -- has been a pro player for nine years.
He was signed by Sao Paulo in 2005 after failed negotiations with
Palmeiras.
The player's lawyer said he believes the public began doubting
Richarlyson's sexual orientation after he celebrated a goal against
Palmeiras by dancing on the sidelines. Palmeiras fans jeered him
since.
Richarlyson doesn't mind that, but he is unwilling to accept
insults from a judge.
"This is a disrespect not only to me, it's a disrespect to
Brazil," Richarlyson said. "All that matters is if the player can
do his job on the field."