Scandal! Former Barcelona player Vitor Roque accused of homophobia

The young forward could face disciplinary action.

Details: Following yesterday’s away victory for Palmeiras over São Paulo with a score of 3-2, the 20-year-old Brazilian striker for Palmeiras, Vitor Roque, posted on Instagram an image of a tiger biting a deer by the neck, accompanied by the caption:

“This is Palmeiras: fight until the end and never give up! Thank God for the victory and the goal. We move forward,” the striker wrote in his post.

Many social media users deemed this post homophobic. The controversy centers around the term “veado”—which translates from Portuguese as “deer” but is also a derogatory slang word used to refer to homosexuality.

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Later, Palmeiras intervened in the situation with an official statement:

"As soon as the club became aware of Vitor Roque’s social media post in the early hours of Sunday, Palmeiras’ management spoke with him and explained that such provocations have no place in football, as they can incite violence. The player understood and immediately removed the image from his account."

Despite the post being promptly deleted, Roque may have violated Article 243-G of the Brazilian Sports Justice Code (CBJD), which punishes discriminatory, disparaging, or outrageous acts based on ethnicity, race, gender, color, age, elderly status, or disability, in order to uphold dignity and equality in sports. If Roque is found guilty, he faces a lengthy suspension ranging from 5 to 10 matches.

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