Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff Is Taunted Four Times By the Crowd at World Cup Opening Ceremony

06/13/2014 - 11h14

Brazil's president Dilma Rousseff and FIFA's president Joseph Blatter were taunted at the World Cup opening ceremony, on Thursday, June 12th, at Itaquera Arena in the city of São Paulo.

The president was taunted four times throughout the day. The first happened just before the match, when supporters shouted "Hey, Dilma, go ** yourself in the *!". While others shouted simultaneously "Hey, FIFA, go ** yourself in the *!".

Curses against Rousseff were strong although segregated to a few areas. They started off at the VIP area (one of the most expensive seating areas) and then spread through the stadium. This hostility did not last long but soon returned after the national anthem.

Ms Rousseff was taunted once again after appearing on a large screen, where she was shown celebrating Brazil's second goal over Croatia. The fourth and last grumble happened before the end of the match.

Last year, president Dilma Rousseff was booed three times by thousands of supporters at the opening ceremony of the Confederations Cup, before Brazil beat Japan by 3-0.

When he had the opportunity to speak, Blatter became embarrassed and even showed discomfort. During a speech he asked the crowd: "Where is the respect? Where is the fair play?" He was booed once again.

Due to these occurrences, the opening ceremony did not include speeches by Rousseff or Blatter. Instead, children released white doves to symbolize peace and to mark the opening of the World championship.

FIFA and the Local Organizing Committee came up with the idea of releasing white doves at the opening ceremony after Rousseff and Blatter opted for discrete roles in the ceremony.

Translated by CRISTIANE COSTA LIMA

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