See moments when Richarlison took a political stand

With the two goals he scored in Brazil’s debut against Serbia, this Thursday (24), Richarlison, 25, fell in love with the Brazilian crowd.

“Pombo” became a darling on social media not only for his exceptional performance on the field, but for his habit of taking a stand on political issues.

Ricky had a boom in followers on the networks after shining in the premiere.

See moments in which the number 9 shirt of the Brazilian national team expressed his positions:

Covid-19 vaccination and pandemic

In addition to having published an open letter in the Players Tribune encouraging vaccination, Richarlison is an ambassador for the USP Vida program, created to speed up the advancement of research and actions for the prevention, cure and treatment of the disease that plagues the world.

Excerpt from the open letter in the Players Tribune:

The kids who follow me and like me because of my goals or the Pombo dance (prouuuu!) may think that talking about health is a boring business, but, in humility, I ask for a few minutes of your attention to what I write .

From the heart I appeal to all of you.

PLEASE DON ‘ T STOP TAKING YOUR VACCINE!

The partnership was signed right at the beginning of the pandemic, in April 2020, and Richarlison moved to bring support from other players and celebrities to the project.

In July 2021, he auctioned one of his pairs of football boots to raise R$7,000, which was donated to the project. The shoes still had the inscription “@CiênciaUSP” engraved on the side.

The player also donated ten cylinders of oxygen to Manaus during the crisis in the city’s health system, in January 2021, during one of the worst moments of the covid-19 pandemic in the country. Richarlison also spoke out about the situation on Twitter.

Racism

Two months before the start of the Cup, in September 2022, Richarlison was the target of a racist act during a friendly match between the Brazilian team and Tunisia, in Paris. After he scored Brazil’s second goal, several objects were thrown from the stands, including a banana, which fell on the lawn.

The attacker declared himself publicly about the case: “As long as they are ‘blah blah blah’ and do not punish, it will continue like this, happening every day and in every corner”.

The match was played in front of a majority of Tunisian fans at the Parc des Princes, Paris Saint-Germain’s stadium.

Richarlison’s incisive stance against racism is not restricted to the case in which he was a victim: at the end of May 2020, after the deaths of George Floyd and João Pedro, Ricky published a photo in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

In an interview with ECOA, the attacker said that the racial cause is among those he considers most important, and that cases of racism are what have shocked him the most.

Humanitarian controversies in Qatar

On the 21st, a few days before Brazil’s debut in the Cup, Richarlison spoke at a press conference about the demonstrations planned by the European teams during the tournament:

“Regardless of anything, we have to respect the opinion of each one, of each selection. I still don’t know what they are going to do here, if they are going to use a banner in favor of the LGBT cause or against racism. I support it in any situation . The most important thing is this. Today we live in a very dangerous world, where we cannot have opinions.”

Other actions

To ESPN, Richarlison revealed in October 2022 that he dedicates 10% of his salary at Tottenham to help Instituto Padre Roberto Lettieri, a support house that welcomes cancer patients treated at Hospital do Amor de Barretos.

“Many people don’t know. In Brazil I have a house in Barretos where there is a cancer hospital. There is a house there to help people who don’t have money to stay there. So there they have free food, they have everything for free 10% of my salary goes there to help these people”, said the striker.

At the beginning of the pandemic, he donated 500 food baskets to needy communities in Nova Venécia, his hometown, in Espírito Santo.

Shortly after the game against Serbia, a thread went viral on Twitter: a user tells that, in 2017, Richarlison helped her get surgery for her father. The player publicized the campaign on social media and donated an autographed Watford shirt, the team where he played at the time, to help raise money.