Tottenham Hotspur star Richarlison was, last month, one of the stars called by Nike to announce Brazil’s kits for the World Cup.
Even though a national team jersey wouldn’t have to do with politics in most countries in the world, this is a different case.
Back in 2016, during the impeachment of president Dilma Rousseff, the right-wing used the shirt as a symbol of patriotism, and continued to carry it during their support for Jair Bolsonaro, wearing it as some kind of uniform in demonstrations to this day.
That way, left-wing and central people were a bit more reluctant about wearing Brazil’s kits, as despite the love for the team, they might not want to be associated to the current president’s political views.
That’s why there’s now a silent campaign for everyone to put the shirt back on, with progressive artists and personalities getting back to wearing the shirts and encouraging people to take back that symbol before the World Cup this year.
So following Tottenham’s game against Sporting last night, Richarlison was quizzed by UOL about that, and he claimed to be part of that movement as well.
“Nowadays, people take [the shirt] a lot to the political side. This makes us lose the identity of the shirt and the yellow flag,” said Richarlison (via UOL).
“I think it’s important that I, as a player, fan and Brazilian, try to take this identification to the whole world. It’s important to recognise that we are Brazilian, have Brazilian blood and take this to the world.”
Richarlison has never publicly made any statements against president Jair Bolsonaro, but attitude such as his support for Covid vaccination have always shown he’s not on the side of the president.
