The former midfielder and sports commentator Richarlyson Barbosa, who came to play for the Brazilian national team, publicly declared himself bisexual and called for cases of homophobia in football to be prosecuted and to end and throughout the country.
“All my life I have been asked if I am gay. I already had relationships with men and women. But today, and that will be the news that will be published, I say: ‘Richarlyson is bisexual’”, said the former Sao Paulo soccer player in a podcast about homophobia and machismo in Brazilian soccer.
Hair straight from being quem é
Richarlyson declares bisexuality in unpublished podcast on homophobia not soccer
He was interviewed for episode 1 of the podcast “Nos Armários dos Vestiários”, a newspaper series on homophobia in football https://t.co/sq3YUO3K2u pic.twitter.com/25nnNsrCY7
— ge (@geglobo) June 24, 2022
Richarlyson hopes that his position will serve, in some way, to seriously address the homophobia in soccer, although he believes that “the world is not prepared to have that discussion and deal naturally” with this scourge.
“There is a more important issue, there are people dying. Brazil is the country that kills homosexuals the most. And we are talking about soccer here, ok, but soccer is something small. ‘Ah, but your speech can help.’ No, it won’t help. Who is Richarlyson, for God’s sake?! I am a mere ordinary citizen”, he pointed out.
The Former midfielder, the first footballer who played in the First Division of the Brazilian Championship and in the national team to speak openly about his sexual condition, lamented that his words “will not move mountains to end homophobia in football,” although he stressed its importance to create awareness.
Likewise, he called for greater punishment for cases of homophobia in stadiums and opted to sanction even the clubs.
“You have to punish the club, there has to be a camera just for that in the stadium, to find out who it is and punish it. If the sentence is three years jail, you have to punish the guy, get him out of the stadium for a year and make the club pay for that situation. This is the only way it will improve”, he stated.
Richarlyson becomes the first supposedly bisexual player to be dressed in the shirt of the Seleção Brasileira. He is also the first non-heterosexual player to have played in the main divisions of Brazilian soccer. This is a historic day for diversity not soccer 🏳️🌈 pic.twitter.com/CMmMwz39TE
— William De Lucca (@delucca) June 24, 2022
Richarlyson, today with 39 years, suffered during his sports career the indifference and attacks of fans for his now declared bisexuality.
“Every day I had to show something different. One mistake of mine counted as five. They attacked me, they looked like a pack of wolves. I knew that I was never a crack, I was never technically incredible, but I was smart to know what I had to do to be ahead of the rest”, he explained.
Richarlyson lived his best years in Sao Paulo, but played for a good number of Brazilian teams, including Fortaleza and Atlético Mineiro, and was called up in 2008 with the senior team, with which he played two games as a left-back.
His track record includes three Brazilian Championships, two Cups Libertadores and a Club World Cup.
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