Brazil: Homophobic football shirts on sale before World Cup
Homophobic t-shirts are on sale in Brazil, two months before the start of the World Cup.
The t-shirts, designed by company Sergio K, bear several homophobic phrases, labelling Portuguese player Cristiano Ronaldo ‘gay’, and Argentinian Diego Maradona a ‘maricón’, slang for faggot.
According to newspaper Folha de S. Paulo, Sergio Kamalakian, who designed the t-shirts, denied being homophobic, and said he was “open minded”.
He told the newspaper: “The collection has a irreverent theme, and the shirts are made for those who want to cheer for Brazil, but don’t want to wear the official kit.”
Despite online petitions calling for the shirts to be removed from sale, the company said that demand had only increased, and confirmed to FdSP that the shirts had now completely sold out.
There have been several anti-gay murders in Brazil this year, ahead of the World Cup in June.
