The renowned Brazilian football coach Abel Braga has apologized after a homophobic outburst during a press conference for his Porto Alegre-based club SC Internacional.
The 73-year-old made the remarks at the Sunday press conference, criticizing his team’s pink training jerseys with the words: “In a conversation with the president I said: I don’t want my damn team training in pink jerseys, that looks like a gathering of gay people.”
I spoke inappropriately about the color pink
Only a few hours later he expressed regret about his remarks on Instagram. “I am aware that during my press conference I spoke inappropriately about the color pink. Before this spreads further, I want to apologize. Colors do not define gender. What defines people is character.”
Braga played as a defender for several professional clubs in the 1970s and early 1980s, including Paris Saint-Germain. He has worked as a coach for forty years, mostly in Brazil. In Europe, he was briefly the coach for Olympique de Marseille and the Swiss first-division club FC Lugano.
Homophobia remains a major problem in Brazilian football. Homophobic insults from fans and players are not uncommon, both on and off the pitch. On social media, hate comments targeting players perceived as queer appear regularly. Coaches and players repeatedly make demeaning remarks as well. Superstar Neymar, around 2020, faced a homophobic slur directed at a man linked to his mother (as reported by TheColu.mn). The Brazilian league and some clubs do support campaigns against queerphobia, such as under the hashtag #FutebolContraHomofobia. (dk)
