In Brazil, some well-known players have posed nude in gay magazines, but none acknowledged being homosexual. Among them were World Cup veteran Vampeta, former Sao Paulo goalkeeper Roger and, most recently, Vitoria goalkeeper Rafael Cordova.


SAO PAULO, Brazil -- The director of a prominent soccer club insinuates on national television that a player on a rival team is gay. The player sues for slander and goes on TV to deny being homosexual. A judge causes an uproar by saying gays don't belong in Brazilian soccer.

With a narrative like a Latin American telenovela, a controversy over the questioned sexual orientation of Sao Paulo midfielder Richarlyson has shaken one of Brazil's most hallowed institutions -- soccer -- with insults, blanket accusations of homophobia and unsolicited defences for supposedly closeted gay teammates.

It all started in June when Palmeiras club director Jose Cyrillo Jr. was asked on a national TV program whether it was true that a soccer player from his team was negotiating for an exclusive television interview to announce that he was homosexual.

Cyrillo denied the report, but added "Richarlyson 'almost' played for Palmeiras," suggesting the 24-year-old ninth-year pro was gay.

Cyrillo later apologized, but Richarlyson -- whose father played professionally and whose brother played for Sporting in Portugal and is now with Brazil's Cruzeiro -- filed a criminal complaint for slander, saying he was wrongly accused of being gay.

Judge Manoel Maximiano Junqueira Filho stoked the dispute by dismissing Richarlyson's claim and issuing a ruling that suggested he leave the game if he was homosexual.

DEFEND HIMSELF

If he wasn't, the judge said, Richarlyson was obliged to defend himself on the same TV program where he was accused.

"Not that a homosexual can't play soccer," Filho wrote. "He can, but he must form his own team and federation, setting up matches with those who want to play against him."

The judge concluded that it is not "reasonable to accept homosexuals in Brazilian soccer because it would hurt the uniformity present" in team sport. Soccer, the judge said, is a "virile game" but "not homosexual," and allowing gays could lead to affirmative action for the sport requiring quotas of gays.

The ruling prompted the government body that oversees judicial ethics in Brazil to demand an explanation from the judge, who has until Friday to respond.

The judge, who did not respond to repeated requests for interviews, abruptly voided his initial ruling last week, saying a different court has jurisdiction. Then he took a leave of absence beginning Monday with no date for a return.

There have been no public declarations of homosexuality by Brazilian league players. Some well-known players have posed nude in gay magazines, but none acknowledged being homosexual. Among them were World Cup veteran Vampeta, former Sao Paulo goalkeeper Roger and, most recently, Vitoria goalkeeper Rafael Cordova.

Cordova said there are gays in the Brazilian league, and that he sympathizes with their situation.