Jorge José Emiliano dos Santos (19 March 1954 – 21 January 1995) also known by his nickname, Margarida (meaning ''Daisy'', in English) was a Brazilian football referee, known for his flamboyant style. He is recognized as an iconic figure in Brazilian football and was one of the first openly gay referees in Brazil.

Early life

Jorge José Emiliano dos Santos was born on 19 March 1954 in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

.Ivan Maurício: ''90 MINUTOS DE SABEDORIA: A FILOSOFIA DO FUTEBOL EM FRASES INESQUECIVEIS'', Editora Garamond, 2002, , p. 114 () He was raised in Copacabana. He learned at the age of 13 to officiate football games from watching

pick-up game In sports and video games, a pick-up game (also known as a ''scratch game'' or ''PUG'') is a game that has been spontaneously started by a group of players. Players are generally invited to show up beforehand, but unlike exhibition games, there ...

s on the beach. His childhood idol was Armando Marques.

Career

After serving as a referee for lower level matches on the beach and in stadiums, dos Santos began refereeing bigger tournaments such as the 1988

Taça Guanabara The Taça Guanabara ( English: Guanabara Cup) is an annual football tournament attached to the Campeonato Carioca, the state football league in the Rio de Janeiro state. It has been organized since 1965 by the Rio de Janeiro State Football Fe ...

. He was known for his "no-nonsense" style. He stated in an interview on 25 March 1988 with ''

Placar ''Placar'' (; stylized in all caps) is a monthly Brazilian sports magazine. Its first edition was issued by Editora Abril. on March 20, 1970, and since then it has become the most successful sports publication in Brazil, even though it focuses ...

'' that "I do not allow any type of indiscipline and demand respect." Due to this reputation, dos Santos was respected by footballers and other referees. In the 1980s, dos Santos, Válter "''Bianca''" Senra, Paulino Rodrigues da Silva, and Sérgio Cenedezi all faced scrutiny as the few openly gay referees of Brazil. In a 1988 match between

Volta Redonda Volta Redonda () is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro state of Brazil with an area of 182.81 km2, located from 350m to 707m above the sea level (22°31'23" S, 44°06'15" W) and with a pop ...

and

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; ), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian multi sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea. It was founded and named after the Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro, Flamengo n ...

, dos Santos faced homophobic slurs from the crowd due to his perceived "effeminate physicality." Dos Santos reflected in 1988:

“Good God! I’ve been hearing that for 20 years, why would I only now give it any weight?"

He added:

“I acknowledged my sexuality to a prejudiced country, which is a hard thing to do. Now if I happen to steal the show it’s because the game is boring.”

Luiz Mott and dos Santos met in the late 1980s while recording a segment for '' Canal Livre''. Notably, dos Santos' childhood idol Armando Marques aimed to remove gay referees from the

Brazilian Football Confederation The Brazilian Football Confederation (, CBF) is the governing body of football in Brazil. It was founded on Monday, 8 June 1914, as , and renamed Confederação Brasileira de Desportos in 1916. The football confederation, as known today, sepa ...

. According to ''

The Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. The Advocate, The Advocates or Advocate may also refer to: Magazines * The Advocate (magazine), ''The Advocate'' (magazine), an LGBT magazine based in the United States * ''The Harvard Advocate' ...

'' dos Santos would tell players, "I might be a pansy off the pitch, but here I'm a macho man."

Personal life and legacy

Dos Santos was one of the first openly gay referees in Brazil. He died on 21 January 1995 from

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

-related complications. Two days later, he was buried in Cemitério de São João Batista wearing a black Brazilian Football Confederation shirt and flowers. He is recognized as an iconic figure in Brazilian football. Dos Santos is one of three role models for the character ''Margarida'' from referee

Clésio Moreira dos Santos Clésio Moreira dos Santos (born 8 January 1958), better known as Margarida (daisy), is a Brazilian football referee, known for his over-the-top style that made him famous on YouTube. In 1988 his training as a referee started. In 1992, he had ...

on YouTube.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Santos, Jorge Jose Emiliano dos 1954 births 1995 deaths 20th-century Brazilian sportsmen 20th-century Brazilian LGBTQ people AIDS-related deaths in Rio de Janeiro (state) Brazilian football referees Brazilian gay sportsmen Burials at Cemitério de São João Batista