Richarlison did not dedicate goals to Bolsonaro in a match against Serbia

It is false that Richarlison, striker for the Brazilian national team, dedicated to President Jair Bolsonaro (PL), during a post-match interview with TV Globo, the two goals he scored in the match against Serbia, in Brazil’s debut in the World Cup in Qatar .

The match —valid for group G— took place on November 24, at the Lusail stadium, in Doha. The net rocked only in the second half of the game: at 16 and 27 minutes.

At the end of the broadcast, the author of the two goals in the match gave an interview to TV Globo and spoke essentially about his recovery on the eve of the World Cup and the opening game. Asked by reporter Eric Faria about the second goal, a volley, Richarlison recalled that he had already made a move in the same style during the selection’s training in Italy and also spoke of his projections for Brazil’s sequence in the Cup.

As verified by the Comprova Project, no political issues were addressed and there was no mention of Bolsonaro.

False, for Comprova, is content that was invented or that has been edited to change its original meaning and deliberately disseminated to spread a falsehood.

Reach

As of November 28, the post on TikTok had more than 134,000 views, 5,600 likes, 670 comments and more than 1,200 shares.

What the publisher says

Contact was not possible because, on TikTok, there is no message exchange between people who do not follow each other, but the author’s posts indicate support for Bolsonaro. On the platform, among other publications, there is a video requesting donations for anti-democratic acts in Minas Gerais and another, with a false reproduction of a news site, claiming that the Northeast would be separated from the rest of the country, if Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) was elected. The same profile was not located on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.

How do we check

We started the verification by searching Google for the keywords “Richarlison” + “Bolsonaro”, which returned to content published in the press involving the athlete and one of the president’s sons, in addition to reports that deal with the player’s political positions, such as those in Sheet and Olé Magazine. No content with the attacker’s supposed homage to the president was found in the press. The agency Aos Fatos, UOL Confere and the website Boatos.org also classified the content as false.

Still searching on Google, with the terms “interview” + “Richarlison” + “post-goal” + “Serbia”, it was possible to locate the video with the player’s statements at the end of the match against Serbia. There is no mention of Bolsonaro, not even on his social networks, which were also consulted.

Interview

In the interview given to TV Globo at the end of the match against Serbia, Richarlison spoke essentially about his recovery and the game. No political issues were addressed. Asked about the movie that was going through his head for going to the World Cup after recovering from an injury and having stood out in his debut, Richarlison replied that it was a childhood dream that came true. He spoke about the uncertainties that hovered over his participation in the Worlds and recalled the day he underwent a medical examination. He said the recovery effort was worth it, in addition to emphasizing the importance of winning the first game.

Afterwards, at the request of the reporter, he spoke about the second goal, a volley, saying that he had scored another in the same style in a game in Italy. “I hope to remain focused like this. It’s one of the goals, I’m going to get more, along with my teammates, I can only thank them. At halftime I said that I only needed one ball to finish and that ball arrived”, he said. He ended the interview remembering that he warned that it would be difficult to break through Serbia’s blockade, but that he is used to more closed games, as he plays in England and teams play like that there.

Social networks

We also checked the player Richarlison’s social networks —Instagram, Facebook and Tik Tok. In none of them is there any mention, at least during this year, of politics or political facts. Photos and videos are totally focused on the world of football.

progressive profile

Contrary to what the post suggests, Richarlison’s personal conduct places him in a more progressive position on the political spectrum. After Brazil’s victory over Serbia, reports even rescued episodes in which the player was pro-science, in favor of the Covid-19 vaccine, against racism or defended social causes.

Why do we investigate?

Comprova investigates suspicious content that goes viral on social networks about the pandemic, public policies of the federal government and pieces that question the result of the presidential elections. Publications that lie about possible support from public figures for the two candidates who ran in the second round of the election further polarize the political debate in the country, which remains fierce after Lula’s victory. Bolsonaro supporters continue to question the result of the vote and seek to provide support from personalities to the current president.

The content verified here has already been denied by UOL Confere, Aos Fatos and Boatos.org. About Richarlison, Comprova has just published that he did not protest against power outages in Amapá during the World Cup. And, regarding the selection, it was found, for example, that the increase in sponsorship for Neymar after he declared support for Bolsonaro is false.