Soccer Fans Must Pick Sides in Brazil’s Bitter Political Contest

  • Fan groups call Bolsonaro authoritarian; some players push him
  • Years after football’s ‘Corinthian democracy,’ new engagement

Photographer: Buda Mendes/Getty Images 

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So bitterly divisive are Brazil’s presidential elections that even the country’s usually apolitical soccer fans are being dragged in.

In recent days, supporters clubs from the biggest teams, including Corinthians, Palmeiras and Flamengo, have issued statements slamming Jair Bolsonaro, the far-right former paratrooper leading opinion polls.