Brazilian Olympic Committee criticizes nationwide soccer crew

The Brazilian Olympic Committee will take motion in opposition to its males’s soccer nationwide crew after the gamers refused to put on the nation’s official Olympic uniform through the medal ceremony on the Tokyo Games on Saturday.
The committee launched an announcement on Sunday condemning angle of the gamers and the Brazilian soccer confederation after the crew beat Spain within the ultimate to win gold.
“After the end of the Games the Brazilian Olympic Committee will make public the measures that will be taken to preserve the rights of the Olympic movement, of our sponsors and of other athletes,” the committee mentioned.
All athletes within the Brazilian delegation had been instructed prematurely they needed to put on the crew’s IOC-approved official uniform, which is supplied by Chinese firm Peak Sport, however the gamers went to the rostrum carrying their Nike jerseys. Only their pants have been a part of the Peak uniform. Their jackets have been tied round their waists.
Players instructed Brazilian media they have been solely following orders from the Brazilian soccer confederation, which had not instantly made an official remark. Some stories mentioned the confederation was not conscious of the requirement that athletes needed to put on the official Team Brazil uniform on the rostrum.
Brazilian swimmer Bruno Fratus, a bronze medalist within the 50 meters in Tokyo, mentioned it “was a clear message” that soccer gamers don’t really feel a part of the Olympic crew and don’t actually care about it.
“They are also completely disconnected and alienated to the consequences that this may bring to the numerous athletes who are not millionaires like them,” he mentioned on Twitter.
Not following the principles might create issues for the Brazilian Olympic Committee with its present and future contracts with Peak or different sportswear firms. Team Brazil used Nike uniforms within the 2012 and 2016 Olympics.
Former Brazilian openwater swimmer Poliana Okimoto, a bronze medalist in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, additionally criticized the soccer crew.
“One of the basic concepts of sports is discipline,” she mentioned on Twitter. “Following rules shouldn’t be that hard. What the soccer team did, not wearing the official uniform on the podium, wasn’t good for Brazil’s image. It’s the Brazilian Olympic Committee that will be punished, not the Brazilian soccer federation.”
It was the second consecutive Olympic gold medal for Brazil’s males’s soccer crew. Before that, it had by no means received the Olympic title.