20 Jun 2013

Pele called out of touch after call to end protests

6:27 pm on 20 June 2013

The Brazilian football great Pele has called on thousands of protestors demonstrating over poor quality public services and corruption to leave the streets and focus on football.

The appeal though has been met with derision on social media.

Brazil is currently hosting the Confederations Cup, a tournament seen as a dry-run before it hosts the World Cup next year.

While revered by football fans worldwide, Pele's image has been tarnished at home by a string of perceived clumsy comments over the years.

Many social media users said because of his great wealth he knew little of how ordinary Brazilians lived, one saying his ignorance was in proportion with his footballing genius.