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São Paulo (AFP) – Although the majority dribbles politics, the few soccer players who are positioned in the Brazilian presidential contest opt for the far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, with the star Neymar at the helm.
The absence of a political tradition among Brazilian athletes and fear of sporting or economic reprisals are the reasons, according to analysts consulted by AFP, why players are traditionally apathetic about participating in politics.
Facing the ballot on October 30 that will pit Bolsonaro against former leftist president Luiz Inácio ‘Lula’ da Silva, the current president concentrates the majority of public support for soccer players, starting with that granted by Neymar days before the first round, won by ‘Lula’.
Active athletes such as Philip Melo (Fluminense) or Lucas Mora (Tottenham, ING), as well as old scratch figures like Rivaldo, Romario, Marcos either Robinhosentenced in Italy to nine years in prison for rape.
“In recent years there has been a very large growth of the right and mainly of the extreme right. Soccer ends up being an expression of that movement,” explains historian Joao Malaia, a professor at the Federal University of Santa Maria, in Rio Grande. do Sul.
For the expert, the liberal Bolsonarist message reaches out more to athletes, many of whom quickly become millionaires despite their humble origins.
The president’s speech “is very much based on individual success, on the ability that each one has to overcome all difficulties. The career of a footballer is an example of that,” he adds.
The ‘loneliness’ of ‘Lula’
For ‘Lula’, favorite in the polls, the Olympic champion was hardly publicly chosen Paulinhostriker for Bayer Leverkusen (ALE).
The other supports were received from former soccer players such as Rai, Walter Casagrande Y Juninho Pernambuco and the former Brazilian coach Vanderlei Luxembourg.
“I would love for more non-conservative athletes to demonstrate, because their voice is very important,” Casagrande, an icon of “Corinthian democracy,” wrote in his column in the daily “Folha de Sao Paulo” in September.
The ‘Corinthian democracy’ was a pro-democracy movement that emerged within the Corinthians of Sao Paulo, in the 1980s, in the midst of the military dictatorship (1964-1985).
Raí, world champion with Brazil in 1994 and brother of the late Socrates, another legend of that movement, went viral on Monday by ratifying his support for the former president at the Ballon d’Or gala in Paris.
For Joao Malaia, the lack of support for ‘Lula’ can be explained by the corruption scandals that occurred during his government (2003-2010).
Sports and advertising “retaliation”
Except for the ‘Corinthian democracy’ and sporadic demonstrations, football and politics in Brazil have traveled different paths.
“In Brazil there is a maxim: football and politics don’t mix. Whoever tries to fight against it ends up suffering a lot of reprisals, mainly in sports,” Malaia explains.
For example, former striker Reinaldo, an Atlético Mineiro legend, attributes his few appearances in the 1978 World Cup in Argentina to the way he celebrated his goal in the ‘Seleção’ debut against Sweden (1-1): raised fist, inspired by the anti-racist and Marxist Black Panthers.
“It was a very daring act, because he had received a recommendation not to celebrate in that way, even from the Argentine authorities,” he wrote in his biography “Punho Cerrado: a história do Rei.”
For Rafael Zanette, a specialist in sports marketing, political positions can also affect players’ income, with clubs or sponsors moving away from them due to their statements.
“For companies, a guy who positions himself politically sets off alarms, because he can cause a big crisis at any time,” he says.
