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How a yellow jersey is dividing Brazil

(CNN)Brazil's bright yellow jersey is a symbol that unites the country through a love of football and national pride, but over the past two years the shirt's adoption by right wing supporters of Jair Bolsonaro, who wear it at protests and rallies to show their political allegiance to the Brazilian president, is causing controversy.

That famous yellow jersey was burnt into the imagination of a global audience in the 1970 World Cup. Inspired by the spelbinding performances of Pelé -- he wore the number 10 jersey -- the yellow shirt has represented Brazil's success on the pitch and created a positive image worldwide for the past five decades.

That 1970 national team also became embroiled in politics, notably ahead of the World Cup in Mexico when General Medici, the president of a nation under military dictatorship, played a key role in the removal of the coach -- Joao Saldanha -- who had overseen a perfect qualification campaign.
Fast forward to 2020 and critics of Bolsonaro say the iconic yellow jersey has now become tainted by its close association to the Brazilian president.

Walter Casagrande, a former footballer for the Brazilian national team and the São Paulo club Corinthians, remembers the feeling of scoring a goal while wearing the yellow jersey in his first match with the "selecao" in 1985.
"It was a magical thing," Casagrande told CNN Sport, "like an enchanted object that gave me huge emotion."
Casagrande's sentiments lie on the left side of the political chasm separating Bolsonaro's supporters and opponents, and he feels an item he cherishes is being misrepresented.
"Now I consider the Brazilian yellow jersey to have been kidnapped and appropriated by the right wing, so we cannot use it."
Casagrande said that for him the power of the yellow shirt used to be that it represented democracy and freedom.
"Brazil is appearing horribly to the world right now," he said. "It's the first time in my life I'm seeing the yellow jersey being used against democracy and freedom."
Supporters of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro pray during a motorcade and protest against the National Congress and the Supreme Court over lockdown measures amidst on the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in front the National Congress on May 09, 2020 in Brasilia.

'It's not about politics'
As quick as the left is to criticize Bolsonaro, his supporters aren't slow to counter punch.
Cosmo Alexandre, a Brazilian fighter who holds multiple world titles for Muay Thai and Kickboxing believes the left is conflating their many issues with Bolsonaro, and using the jersey as just another way to air grievances.
As a Bolsonaro supporter, Alexandre brushes off accusations that the jersey's symbolism is being manipulated, and says the reason for supporters to wear a yellow t-shirt is simple: everyone in Brazil has a yellow t-shirt.
He points out that supporters don't always wear the Brazilian team jersey specifically, and rallies are full of people wearing yellow t-shirts of all kinds.
Alexandre says there is a separation between the jersey's sporting reputation and associations from what it politically represents.
"Around the world everybody knows about the Brazilian soccer team, so even if I go to a fight and I use the yellow soccer team shirt, everyone knows it's Brazil," he said. "So it's not about politics -- it's just that the world knows about soccer in Brazil."
It may be easier for some than others to isolate football and politics in a country where football is God.
Josemar de Rezende Jr. is a football fan who co-founded a Bolsonaro volunteer group in his city before the election. He said he's proud of the Brazilian team's global reputation for winning, and to him the yellow jersey "means love for the country, leadership, achievement and pride."

Sumber: https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/06/football/bolsonaro-brazil-foootb...

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