THE BRAZILIAN FA have explained why none of their players were issued with the No24 shirt for the Copa America amid homophobia claims.
The number is associated with homosexuality in Brazil and a judge demanded to know why none of their players were assigned it for the tournament.
Brazil are the only one of the 10 Copa America teams who do not have a No24.
In usual tournaments, squads are capped at 23 players and the numbers 1-23 are selected accordingly.
But to allow for any squad changes as a result of Covid-19, the squad limit was increased – Brazil have 24 players in theirs – and the shirt numbers to select from extended to 1-30.
Aston Villa’s Douglas Luiz was Brazil’s extra man and he has been wearing the No25 shirt.
Manchester City keeper Ederson has No23 but there is no player between the pair with No24.
The link to homosexuality come from Brazil’s illegal street gambling game ‘Jogo do Bicho’ (The Animal Game).
With each number in the game corresponding to a different animal, the 24 was assigned to the deer (‘veado’ in Portuguese). The issue, though, is that ‘viado’ is also a common homophobic slur in Brazil.
Many Brazilian players in the past have refused to wear the number for their clubs.
Brazilian FA’s full response
Here is the full transcript showing questions asked by the judge and the Brazilian FA’s response…
1. Is the non-inclusion of number 24 in the official uniform at competitions a deliberate policy of the respondent?
Answer : No.
2. If not, why not include number 24 in the official uniform of the respondent?
Reply: The initial regulation of the Conmebol Copa America 2021 (“Competition”) determined that only 23 players could be entered. This number of athletes is traditionally observed in Conmebol and FIFA international competitions. The numbering used by athletes is related to sports issues only. Initially, the organization of the competition established the use of numbers 1 to 23 sequentially, which was done by the Brazilian team when registering 23 athletes. However, later on, the Competition Regulations were changed and 5 additional places were granted, due to the possibility of changing players due to possible contamination by COVID-19.
3. Which department within the respondent is responsible for deliberating the numbers on the official team uniform?
Answer : In this case, the technical committee of the Brazilian soccer team
4. Who are the people and employees of Interpelada who are part of this department that deliberates on the definition of numbers in the official uniform?
Answer : The person in charge of the department is the coordinator Mr. Oswaldo Giroldo Júnior (“Juninho Paulista”).
5. Is there any guidance from FIFA or Conmebol on registering players with number 24 on their shirt?
Answer : The CBF is not aware of any guidance on the subject.
And although the game’s popularity is in decline, judge Ricardo Cyfer still demanded to know why no No24 was selected.
He asked if the decision was a deliberate one to which the Brazilian FA (CBF) replied: “No.”
And asked why the number was not used, the CBF said: “The initial regulation of the Conmebol Copa America 2021 (“Competition”) determined that only 23 players could be entered.
“This number of athletes is traditionally observed in Conmebol and FIFA international competitions.
“The numbering used by athletes is related to sports issues only.
“Initially, the organization of the competition established the use of numbers 1 to 23 sequentially, which was done by the Brazilian team when registering 23 athletes.
“However, later on, the Competition Regulations were changed and 5 additional places were granted, due to the possibility of changing players due to possible contamination by COVID-19.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
