The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) will have to answer to the Justice why the number 24 is not used in the official uniform of the team Canarinha on the America Cup, while the rest of the teams participating in the tournament do, an omission that has been associated with homophobia.
According to a precautionary decision issued this Wednesday by the judge Ricardo Cyfer, of the Court of Justice of Rio de Janeiro, the CBF will have 48 hours to explain if the omission of the number is deliberate, who defines the numbering of the shirts and if there is any guidance from FIFA or Conmebol on the registration of athletes wearing the t-shirt 24.
The lawsuit was filed by the Grupo Arco Iris, of the LGBT community, which questioned whether the omission of the number on the official uniform of the team is related to homophobic prejudice.
In Brazil there is a certain “suspicion” against the number 24 that has been associated for decades with homosexuality in a pejorative sense.
The '24' is the number with which the deer (veado) is identified in the 'Jogo do bicho', a clandestine lottery that despite being illegal exists throughout the Brazilian territory and is part of its popular culture.
In popular slang, the word “veado” -whose sound is similar to “viado” (deviant) – is synonymous with homosexual, which is why many soccer players have refused to use that number on their jerseys.
La Canarinha, although it summoned 24 players to participate in the Copa América, is the only team in the tournament that does not use that number on its official uniform, and in which the numbering that the players wear on their shirts jumps from 23 to 25.
According to Grupo Arco Iris “the fact that the numbering of the Brazilian team skips the number 24, considering the historical and cultural connotation that surrounds this number, associating it with homosexuals, should be understood as a clear offense to the LGBTI + community and as a homophobic attitude “.