Brazil Football Condemns Rioters Storming Capital in Iconic Jersey

Brazil’s football association condemned the widespread use of its iconic yellow jersey by supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro in the insurrection that took the country’s capital by storm on Sunday.

(Bloomberg) — Brazil’s football association condemned the widespread use of its iconic yellow jersey by supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro in the insurrection that took the country’s capital by storm on Sunday. 

CBF, as the association is known, “vehemently rejects” the use of Brazil’s national team shirt by protesters in anti-democratic acts and vandalism. The jersey should be worn “to unify and not to divide Brazilians,” it said Monday on Twitter.

Thousands of Bolsonaro’s supporters, many of whom were wearing the country’s national football jersey, broke into Brazil’s congress, presidential palace and top court in Brasilia on Sunday. The violent uprising was akin to the Jan. 6 insurrection at the US Capitol in 2021. 

The traditional canary yellow and green jersey, which for decades has been a symbol of the world’s most successful national football team, more recently became the fashion accessory of supporters of the conservative movement headed by Bolsonaro. Such political implications led many Brazilian fans to ditch the jersey when cheering for the country at the Qatar World Cup last year.

Read More: Brazil World Cup Fans Ditch Yellow Shirt Tainted by Politics

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