(Note offensive language in third paragraph)
Dec 1 (Reuters) - A 73-year-old coach who came out of retirement to try and save a top-flight Brazilian soccer team from relegation found himself apologising for homophobic comments within hours of his appointment.
Abel Braga was introduced on Sunday as coach of Internacional, who are facing the drop with two matches left. But his first press conference in the city of Porto Alegre turned controversial when discussing training gear.
Recounting a conversation with sporting director Andres D'Alessandro, Braga said: "I said, 'I don't want my freaking team training in pink shirts, it looks like a team of faggots.'"
When questioned about the slur later in the press conference, the coach claimed it was said "in a light-hearted tone" as part of efforts to motivate his struggling squad.
"I had to relax my group today, you understand. I want the guys to be strong," he explained, saying his intention was to ease dressing room tension.
'BEFORE THIS SPREADS, I APOLOGISE'
Facing a backlash on social media, Braga felt compelled to address the controversy on Instagram before the day was out.
"I recognise that I did not make a good comment about the colour pink during my press conference. Before this spreads, I apologise. Colours do not define genders. What defines them is character," he wrote.
Neither his club nor the Brazilian football federation have commented.
Internacional, sitting fourth from bottom on 41 points, must beat Sao Paulo and Bragantino in their final two games to avoid relegation.
Braga, who took the job without pay on a contract covering only those remaining matches, is a club legend having won the Copa Libertadores and Intercontinental titles as coach in 2006.
He had been retired from coaching for three years.
In 2024, manager Helio dos Anjos was suspended for nine games in Brazil's second division for homophobic slurs against a referee in a match between Paysandu and Volta Redonda. He was also ordered to pay a fine of 20,000 reais ($3,750).
($1 = 5.3363 reais)
(Reporting by Fernando Kallas; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
