(...)
But pointing to the billions of dollars spent on stadiums at the expense of basic needs, a growing number of protesters are telling fans around the globe to do what would once have seemed unthinkable: to boycott the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. In a sign of how thoroughly the country has been turned upside down, even some of the nation’s revered soccer heroes have become targets of rage for distancing themselves from the popular uprising.
“Pelé and Ronaldo are making money off the Cup with their advertising contracts, but what about the rest of the nation?” asked one protester, Gabriela Costa, 24, a university student.
Protesters lambasted both men after Pelé, whose full name is Edson Arantes do Nascimento, called on Brazilians to “forget the protests” and a video circulated on social media showing Ronaldo, whose name is Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima, now a television commentator and sports marketing strategist, contending that World Cups are accomplished “with stadiums, not hospitals.”
(...)
But while Pelé has been faulted publicly before for his stance on various issues and for his initial failure to acknowledge an out-of-wedlock daughter, the level of criticism against him and other soccer figures has changed. Now Brazil’s star players, even those speaking favorably of the current wave of protests, are suddenly finding themselves under scrutiny in new ways. Full story...
Related posts:
But pointing to the billions of dollars spent on stadiums at the expense of basic needs, a growing number of protesters are telling fans around the globe to do what would once have seemed unthinkable: to boycott the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. In a sign of how thoroughly the country has been turned upside down, even some of the nation’s revered soccer heroes have become targets of rage for distancing themselves from the popular uprising.
“Pelé and Ronaldo are making money off the Cup with their advertising contracts, but what about the rest of the nation?” asked one protester, Gabriela Costa, 24, a university student.
Protesters lambasted both men after Pelé, whose full name is Edson Arantes do Nascimento, called on Brazilians to “forget the protests” and a video circulated on social media showing Ronaldo, whose name is Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima, now a television commentator and sports marketing strategist, contending that World Cups are accomplished “with stadiums, not hospitals.”
(...)
But while Pelé has been faulted publicly before for his stance on various issues and for his initial failure to acknowledge an out-of-wedlock daughter, the level of criticism against him and other soccer figures has changed. Now Brazil’s star players, even those speaking favorably of the current wave of protests, are suddenly finding themselves under scrutiny in new ways. Full story...
Related posts:
- Brazil is saying what we could not: we don't want these costly extravaganzas...
- No, I'm not going to the World Cup...
- Protesters flood Brazilian cities over World Cup spending...
- In Brazil, the mask of democracy is falling...
- Biggest protests in 20 years sweep Brazil...
- Pele, the world's greatest footballer, is also the world's greatest flatterer!!!
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