Brazilan soccer legend Rivaldo warns potential 

Olympic tourists: ‘stay home’

By Golfweek Staff

The Olympic Rings rise above Madureira Park in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Getty Images)

The Zika virus, water pollution, sluggish ticket sales and now this: retired Brazilian soccer star Rivaldo advises tourists not to come to Rio de Janeiro for the Olympics. 
The violence in Brazil is that bad.
In a recent posting on his Instagram account picked up by The Associated Press, Rivaldo alluded to the recent slaying of a 17-year-old Brazilian girl, killed in a shoot-out Saturday in the turbulent south-east coastal city.
“Things are getting uglier here every day,” Rivaldo wrote in a Portuguese post that was translated by the AP. “I advise everyone with plans to visit Brazil for the Olympics in Rio – to stay home. You’ll be putting your life at risk here. 
"This is without even speaking about the state of public hospitals and all the Brazilian political mess. Only God can change the situation in our Brazil.”
Violence isn’t the only problem facing the host of the Aug. 5-21 Rio Games, which includes golf’s return to the Olympics after a 112-year absence. 
President Dilma Rousseff is facing impeachment amid a growing political scandal, and construction delays and environmental concerns have been compounded by slow ticket sales and public protests against the Games, the first in South America. 
According to Amnesty International, 307 killings in Rio last year were attributed to police, accounting for 20 percent of the city’s homicides.
Rivaldo, a former FIFA World Player of the Year, helped lead Brazil to the 2014 World Cup title, the nation’s record fifth victory in the quadrennial series.