Dec 30, 2021: A new statue of football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has sparked controversy in the Indian state of Goa, where residents have objected to honoring a Portuguese footballer instead of an Indian player.

Michael Lobo, a minister in the Goa state government, tweeted on Wednesday that the statue aims to promote football as a sport and encourage young people to play the sport.

“When people talk about football, they talk about Cristiano Ronaldo. That’s why we set up this statue here so that boys and girls can be inspired at a very young age, so they can feel and grow the love and passion for the game,” he said.

Instead, a day after the unveiling of the 400-kilogram (882-pound) statue in Panji, the capital of Goa, protesters carrying black flags gathered at the protest site, India’s IANS news agency reported on Wednesday. in accordance.

Not only were the protesters angry at the decision to honor the foreign footballer, but the fact that the player from Portugal was selected was seen as a special insult, as the European country has colonized Goa for centuries, finally leaving 60 years ago.

Lobo later told IANS that the protesters “just hated” football.

Ronaldo has not publicly commented on the statue in Goa. In 2017, another controversy erupted when the striker’s statue was widely ridiculed and eventually replaced at the airport on the Portuguese island of Madeira. Although cricket is the most popular sport in India as a whole, football is more popular in some areas like Goa.

Lobo told India’s ANI News Agency that despite having a population of over 1.3 billion, India was worse off in football than many other smaller nations.

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