Tottenham star Richarlison has been criticised by Roy Keane after scoring for Brazil in their 4-1 World Cup win over South Korea.
The £175,000-a-week Spurs forward scored Brazil’s third goal in the Round of 16 win over South Korea, finishing off a brilliant team move after a superb pass from Thiago Silva.
After hitting the back of the net, Richarlison – who now has three goals in three World Cup games – ran to the touchline to do his famous pigeon celebration, with Tite, manager of Brazil, also getting involved, which annoyed Keane.
What’s the story?
Well, the 51-year-old is known for being one of the more grumpy pundits around, and he unsurprisingly failed to see any positives in the Brazilian players dancing.
Speaking on ITV after Richarlison’s pigeon dance with his teammates and Tite, Keane said: “I don’t like this, he’s made the point about culture but I think that’s disrespecting the opposition. I don’t mind the first kind of jig, it’s the one after that and then the manager getting involved with it. I’m not happy with it, it’s not good at all.”
Clearly, the Manchester United icon believes the Seleção need to rein it in a bit after scoring.
However, we disagree.
Dancing and bringing a Samba style onto the pitch has been synonymous with Brazil for decades now, and they should not be expected to stop just because a few pundits think they’re being disrespectful.
After all, had South Korea done the same thing, we doubt Brazil would be too bothered.
Tottenham star Richarlison is shining
Let’s put the dancing aside for a moment, and focus on the exquisite performances of Richarlison instead.
The 25-year-old may have only scored two goals in 15 appearances so far for Tottenham, but when he pulls on that yellow shirt for Brazil, he turns into a different animal.
Richarlison earned Brazil’s second goal out of nothing, chasing a lost cause to surprise Jung Woo-Young and win a penalty, which Neymar dispatched confidently.
The South American – as aforesaid – then scored Brazil’s third, with an effort which could end up being named Goal of the Tournament, if his bicycle kick against Serbia doesn’t win that accolade.
Hopefully, Richarlison can bring this form back to north London with him, once the World Cup is over.
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