A campaign launched by Mastercard has been criticised on social media for pledging to donate money towards starving children if Argentine Lionel Messi or Brazilian Neymar score for club or country.
The credit card giant, which has been one of Brazil's main sponsors since 2012, last week announced the initiative which looked to donate the equivalent value of 10,000 meals to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) every time the players score until March 2020.
The donations would be slated for children in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Despite Mastercard's good intentions, the campaign was criticised online.
Brazil's coach Tite expressed his unease during a recent press conference.
"Mastercard, I am going to tell you something,this donation to charity is very nice," he told reporters at a news conference in Liverpool ahead of Brazil's friendly with Croatia on Sunday.
"It's beautiful and it's grand. Just as it would be a grand gesture you giving food if any Argentina or Brazil player was to score a goal. We work here as a team and these gestures can be a bit frustrating. That’s my suggestion."
The comments, reported on Brazilian web site UOL, come despite the support from both players.
Messi said he was "proud to be a part of this campaign" and Neymar said it was an example of how the traditional rivals "can do great things when we come together".
Some on social media agreed with Messi and Neymar.
A Mastercard spokesperson told SBS News: "The campaign in question is running in Latin America, not here in Australia."
"This campaign is a small part of our overall global commitment to deliver 100 million meals to those in need of food assistance. Mastercard is a firm supporter of the great work done by WFP and over the last 5 years we have driven a multi-million dollar investment in the agency’s life-saving work.
"We are proud to be the single largest private sector supporter of this agency. And we have the opportunity to use our brand and our brand ambassadors to raise awareness of this important cause."
A WFP spokesperson said: "The United Nations World Food Programme is a voluntarily funded organisation and depends of the generosity of governments, companies and members of the public to fund its life-saving work."
"Last year, we provided food assistance to over 90 million people but with more help, we could reach many millions more. Mastercard is a valued partner of the World Food Programme and over the past 5 years has driven a multi-million dollar investment in the agency’s work.
"As part of its current campaign, Mastercard has already raised funds to provide meals to 400,000 hungry children and is committed to providing over a million meals by 2020."
Brazil has been drawn alongside Switzerland, Costa Rica and Serbia, while Argentina will play Iceland, Nigeria and Croatia in the group stage.
