Brazil forces Adidas to withdraw World Cup T-shirts saying suggestive motifs harm image

BRAZIL has ordered Adidas to withdraw World Cup shirts bearing suggestive motifs, saying it shouldn’t be linked with sex.

BRAZIL has forced the withdrawal of World Cup shirts bearing suggestive motifs seen as harming the country’s image.

Following a complaint by the state tourist board, official cup sponsor Adidas withdrew the shirts, which had gone on sale in the US.

One of the designs depicted a heart completing the phrase “I love Brazil” but curved to suggest a bikini-clad female backside.

Another had a picture postcard view of Rio’s Sugarloaf Mountain and a woman in a bikini holding a football with the double entendre strapline “Lookin’ to score”.

A couple play with a football at Ipanema beach in Rio de Janeiro.

State tourism body Embratur said it “strongly repudiates the commercialisation of products linking Brazil’s image with sex” and it had contacted Adidas to demand the shirts be withdrawn.

Brazil’s minister of state for women, Eleonora Menicucci, also complained of a “lack of respect towards our country”.

“It is unacceptable for a multinational producer of sports goods such as Adidas to sell T-shirts bearing images and phrases linking Brazil to sex tourism,” she said.

Adidas responded by withdrawing the products, saying: “It is important to stress that this was a limited edition range which was only available in the US.’’

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said the World Cup host was happy to welcome foreign visitors and around 600,000 are expected for the June 12 to July 13 tournament.

But she has said the country will not tolerate sex tourism and will boost measures to combat it.