Locals in the southern Indian state of Goa have protested a statue of Portuguese player Cristiano Ronaldo.
The locals accuse officials of insensitivity of honouring a sports hero from the region’s former colonial authority.
After the statue was unveiled this week in the town of Calangute, protesters with black flags gathered at the site.
They were enraged that officials had overlooked local athletes in favour of a player from Portugal, which controlled Goa as a colony until 1961 when it was seized by India.
Micky Fernandes, a Goa-born former Indian international player, called the decision “hurtful” and a “hangover” from Portuguese domination.
“Ronaldo is the best player in the world,” Fernandes told AFP, “but we should have a statue of a football player from Goa.”
The goal, according to Michael Lobo, a local minister with India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, was to motivate young people to thrive not just in India but around the world.
“People like Cristiano Ronaldo will motivate all the boys and girls who aspire to build a career out of football,” Lobo added.
“You can achieve a better objective if you pursue your desire and are passionate about it.” This is the inscription on the plaque.”
It’s not the first time that a statue of Ronaldo, 36, has sparked controversy.
In 2017, a giddy figure exhibited at Madeira Airport in Portugal was heavily mocked for looking nothing like its subject.
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