Brazil football federation fined over homophobic chants during match
Brazil has been fined for homophobic chants during a match with Bolivia (Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)
Brazil’s football federation has been fined $15,000 over homophobic chanting by fans during a match.
The incident took place during the Copa America’s opening match against Bolivia on 14 June, the South American Football Confederation said.
Bolivia goalkeeper Carlos Lampe heard the slurs several times at the Morumbi Stadium.
More anti-gay chants were also heard on Thursday during Brazil’s quarterfinal against Paraguay at the Arena do Gremio in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Last year, a Brazilian football team condemned its own supporters after they chanted death threats at opposing fans.
On September 16, during a 0-0 draw between Atletico Mineiro and Cruzeiro, Mineiro supporters sang: “Cruzeiro fans, be careful, Bolsonaro will kill the queers.”
Their chant referred to now president Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right, anti-LGBT politician who has said he would prefer to have a dead son over a gay one.
Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro (Miguel Schincariol/AFP/Getty)
In a statement on Twitter, the club—one of the biggest in the country—wrote that it “deeply regrets the homophobic manifestations of the fans in the Mineiro game this Sunday.”
“We reiterate our repudiation of any gestures of prejudice or incitement to violence,” the team said.
Mineiro added: “The biggest crowd in Minas Gerais [the state in which the club plays] is made up of people from all social classes, races and genres, without any kind of discrimination.
“This is not part of our glorious history!”
