Argentine striker stirs up controversy with comment on poverty

Boca Juniors football star Carlos Tevez has created a controversy in Argentina, speaking in an interview about the poverty and inequality he had seen in the country.

The striker, 31, told a TV journalist about a trip he had taken to the northern province of Formosa and how the poverty there had shocked him.

"I do not understand the inequality we live with. A few days ago, we went to play in Formosa, where we stayed in a 5-star hotel. The poverty in Formosa is very clear. We entered a hotel where it was like Las Vegas with a casino. But right outside, people are starving," Tevez was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

Following his comments, officials from Formosa, belonging to the Front for Victory, lashed out at Tevez. On Saturday, Juan Manuel Santander, an advisor to the Formosa provincial government, called Tevez "Europeanized scum", in reference to the 10 years he spent playing in England and Italy.

Additionally, Gildo Insfran, the governor of Formosa province, defended his administration and accused the Athens 2004 gold medal winner of having intentionally criticized the province due to ulterior motives.

The controversy has also involved two of the main candidates for Argentina's upcoming presidential election on October 25, Daniel Scioli and Mauricio Macri.

Scioli, who has been endorsed by President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, called Tevez "a friend", while stating that Formosa "had seen much progress and many advances in the last few years".

He added that Buenos Aires also counted with 5-star hotels while having poorer neighborhoods.

However, Macri, the opposition candidate and mayor of Buenos Aires, defended Tevez, who debuted for Boca Juniors in 2001 when Macri was president of the club.

"I extend my full solidarity to Carlitos (Tevez)...he does not deserve to be treated like this for saying what he thinks," he told the press.