Soccer great Romario elected to Brazil senate
06 Oct 2014 / 16:35 H.
Former Brazilian football player and congressman Romario da Souza Faria takes part in a campaign rally, at the Rocinha favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on August 30, 2014. AFP
RIO DE JANEIRO: Brazilian striker-turned-politician Romario was elected Sunday to the senate with 63.4% of the vote for the Rio de Janeiro seat.
The 48-year-old former soccer star -- a 1994 World Champion and Socialist Party candidate -- finished well ahead of Democratic Party rival Cesar Maia, who had received 20.5% with 90% of votes counted.
In the 2010 general election Romario was elected a congressman for the Socialists.
A trenchant critic of the World Cup held in his homeland earlier this year, Romario alleged corruption through over billing on swanky new stadiums.
The former PSV Eindhoven and Barcelona striker also slammed the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) as plagued by corruption. – AFP