Pele apparently backtracked on comments that Brazilian soccer stars Robinho and Ronaldo have had drug problems, saying on Wednesday his comments were misinterpreted by the press.

On Tuesday, Robinho threatened Pele with legal action.

Speaking last week at a tourism business conference closed to the press but which the Sao Paulo radio station Jovem Pan managed to record, Pele said: "It's unfair to talk of drugs in football just because of one or two cases, as happened with Ronaldo and Robinho, who had that problem."

An unnamed spokesman for Pele told the Jornal do Brasil newspaper on Wednesday that Pele was questioned about general problems soccer players had faced. While his quote seemed to connect Robinho and Ronaldo - along with Diego Maradona - to past drug use, the spokesman said it was not Pele's intention.

Instead, the spokesman said Pele was referring to the sexual assault allegations Robinho faces in England and an encounter Ronaldo had last year with three cross-dressing transvestites in Rio.

On Tuesday, Robinho's representatives said they wanted Pele to explain the comments and apologize if they were accurately reported.

"A formal retraction from Pele will be requested, if what he said was not misinterpreted by the media that published it," a statement on Robinho's personal website said. "And if Pele does not come forward, he will have to deal with his very unfortunate comment in court."

By Wednesday, that statement was taken down from Robinho's website and replaced with Pele's comments given to Globo.

"He is our son and thank God he came out of Santos, where he had our supervision," Pele said. "It was a misunderstanding because I didn't say anything like this. When somebody tells me something like this, I say: 'Bring me the tape.'"

The recording of Pele's comments were widely dispersed on the internet sites of Brazilian media outlets.

It was not clear if Robinho's threat of legal action still stood. He was in Brazil training with the national team and was not immediately available for comment.

Calls to a spokesman for Ronaldo, who has declined all comment, rang unanswered.

(AP via China Daily March 27, 2009)