Brazil coach Tite and others have slammed Roy Keane for his comments following Brazil’s dance goal celebration against South Korea.
The renowned English pundit and former Manchester United player came under vitriol from Brazil media outlets, including the Selecao head coach Tite.
Brazil put up a superb performance against South Korea in the round of 16 clash and earned a deserved 4-1 win over the Asians, with all four goals coming in the first half of the game.
However, how they celebrated the goals and the win had sparked reactions, with popular English pundit Roy Kean describing the goal celebration as ‘disrespectful’ towards the South Koreans.
Brazil exerted absolute dominance over the South Koreans and nailed the game perfectly in the first 45 minutes of play. Each time they scored, it was a dancing celebration. Despite their clear dominance on the night, Tite’s men did not get tired of celebrating, with the manager Tite equally getting involved at a point in the celebration.
Brazil got the manager doing dance celebrations 😭😭😭😭😭#WorldcupQatar2022#Brasil#WorldCup
— Bowen (@brown77864) December 5, 2022
pic.twitter.com/sN5WYhBMfl
Roy Keane was obviously angry while commenting on the antics of the South Americans during the game. Speaking on ITV Sport, Roy Keane said;
‘I don’t like this,’ he said on ITV Sport. ‘People say it’s their culture. But I think that’s really disrespecting the opposition. It’s four goals, and they are doing it every time.’
The English pundit said it was never a problem when they did it the first time, but when they did it repeatedly, as each goal came in, it became a problem, and the manager worsened it when he joined the jig.
‘I don’t mind so much the first jig, it’s the one after that, and the manager getting involved’, he added. ‘I’m not happy about it. I don’t think it’s good at all.’
Roy Keane unhappy about Brazil’s celebrations 🇧🇷 🕺🏿#TouchlineFracas [@BeardedGenius]pic.twitter.com/xOkPdd5jqW
— #TouchlineFracas (@touchlinefracas) December 5, 2022
Roy Keane’s comment has attracted a huge backlash from the Brazilian media and Brazil’s head coach himself.
Brazilians made a villain of the Manchester United legend as they turned on him for what they think is an unnecessary and ignorant comment by the Premier League legend.
The critics specifically target Roy Keane’s career as a pundit, including his football career. They even reminded him of how he ended Erling Haaland’s father’s football career with his rough tackle back in the days.
A Leading Brazilian TV channel, TNT Sports, wrote on Twitter: ‘Hello, roy keane! don’t like the dances? bite your back! this here is Brazil!
‘See if you can do something like that! Even Tite will dance here! Like it or not.’
Another Brazilian broadcaster, Globo, responded to Keane’s remarks by bringing up some of his lowest moments as a footballer.
Their report, which describes Roy Keane as the ‘executioner’ following his goal against Palmeiras in the 1999 Intercontinental Cup final mocks controversial incidents of his career, including the infamous and rough tackle which ended Alf-Inge Haaland’s career.
Rafael Belattini, one of Brazil’s NFL commentators, said: ‘Few things are more irrelevant than Roy Keane’s opinion on the Brazilian national team. Do they translate Vampeta’s comments about the English team in England? Because Vampeta has a Cup, at least…’
Brazil boss Tite also spoke out on accusations of disrespect shown by his side in Qatar, branding such claims ‘evil’.
‘You have to learn how to do the moves,’ he said at his post-match press conference. ‘And the moves are very tight!’
This spat between Roy Keane and the Brazilians is coming against the backdrop of the Vinicius jr’s saga early this season in Spanish football.
The Real Madrid midfielder was urged by the President of the Spanish football agents association, Pedro Bravo, “to stop acting monkey and respect his opponents” when he scores a goal.
The statement was widely criticized by Brazilians and other footballers, who accused Pedro Bravo of racism while expressing their solidarity with the Real Madrid forward.
Neymar Jr, Gabriel Jesus, Guimaraes, Pele, and other Brazil football stars urged Vinicius jr to continue dancing while blasting Bravo for the unguarded utterance.
La Liga and Real Madrid also issued statements confirming their opposition to every form of racism and their resolve to take all action necessary to curb the menace.
Pedro Bravo later apologized for the incident, but the Atletico Madrid fans were caught live hauling racist remarks at Vinicius jr at the Metropolitano Stadium before the Madrid derby.
Some pundits have attributed the dancing celebration to Brazil’s football culture, but how this shade of cultural behavior diffuse through other climes is a major issue.
The Selecao will tackle Croatia in the World Cup quarterfinal clash. It is pretty clear that the team will not stop dancing when they score.
