A statue of Portuguese football star Cristiano
Ronaldo has been inaugurated in Goa by Ports Minister and
Calangute MLA Michael Lobo at a Zilla panchayat project taken up by Calangute
ZP member Dattaprasad Dabholkar.

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“Ronaldo is a global legend. He is an
inspiration to all young and aspiring Goan footballers. They all want to become
like Ronaldo. Football is Goa’s state sport. We want our footballers to become
legends like Ronaldo. This statue will inspire them,” Lobo said while launching
the beautification of open space, landscaping, garden with fountain and walkway
at Agarwaddo, Calangute.

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Goa is also a former Portuguese colony, and
it is 60 years since the state was liberated from Portugal. Ronaldo, being a
Portuguese international, is hugely popular in Goa. Officials hope it will
inspire young people to take up football. Portugal’s football team is also
popular in Goa, and due to its colonial past, many locals have lived in
Portugal or have family there.

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But some locals held a protest with black
flags on the sidelines of the launch. Calangute Constituency Forum president
Premanand Divkar, who was part of the protest, said a statue of a great Goan
footballer from Calangute would have been more appropriate at the spot and said
they were opposed to a statue of a foreign player.

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“Very disappointed to hear of the
statue of Ronaldo being erected. Learn to take pride in our own icons like
Samir Naik and Bruno Coutinho,” a local Goan was quoted as saying by the
IANS news agency.

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Others said it is insulting to install the
statue during the 60th-anniversary celebrations of Goa finally gaining
independence from Portugal, which happened 14 years after the rest of India was
liberated from British rule.

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“To erect a statue of a Portuguese
footballer this year is sacrilegious. We condemn this,” IANS quoted
right-wing activist Guru Shirodkar as saying.

“There are many freedom fighters in
Goa who have been insulted,” he added.