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Griezmann, Dembele offer apologies over racism storm


Bangladeshpost
Published : 06 Jul 2021 07:25 PM

AFP, Paris

France midfielder Ousmane Dembele on Monday apologised after a video emerged on social media of him appearing to denigrate Asian hotel employees on a tour of Japan by his club Barcelona.

Dembele offered his “sincere apologies” after a 42-second clip, which he appeared to have made on Snapchat in 2019, was leaked and widely shared on social media platforms.

It shows Dembele, on Barca’s preseason tour in July 2019, talking to team-mate Antoine Griezmann who is waiting for local technicians to hook up a game console to a television in their hotel room. “All these ugly faces, just so you can play PES (Pro Evolution Soccer), aren’t you ashamed?” Dembele asks.

He then appears to mock the Japanese language before asking: “are you advanced in your country or not?”

Dembele, who is recovering from surgery after injuring his knee in France’s second group game at Euro 2021, said he regretted the incident.

“Recently a private video dating from 2019 has been circulating on social media. As it happens it is in Japan -- it could have been anywhere on the planet and I would have used the same expressions. I wasn't targeting any community,” the 24-year-old said on Instagram.