Barcelona have apologized for the actions of Antoine Griezmann & Usman Dembele in a video that surfaced over the weekend & said they are studying internal measures against the players.
In a video recorded during the club's tour of Japan in the summer of 2019, Dembele is seen mocking the "ugly faces" of Asian staff at a hotel, to which teammate Griezmann laughs.
The two expressed regret on social media earlier this week, admitting they were abusive, but denied that they had any racist intentions.
"Barcelona deeply regret the outrage among Japanese & Asian fans & our club partners due to a video in which two players displayed a lack of respect in their attitude towards several staff at the hotel in which they were staying. ,” read a statement. Catalan Club on Wednesday.
“This attitude is in no way matched with the values that Barcelona represents & defends. The club is committed to improving its education on questions of race, discrimination & diversity. In Barcelona, there is no discrimination against racism or discrimination. There is no place for
"Barcelona would like to publicly apologize to all the club's fans and partners who have felt unhappy about this incident since the summer of 2019, a time when the club's responsibilities fell to the Board of Directors and the executive team before the current one.
"The players have already shown their regret and apologized to the Japanese fans and partners, something that the club values. Nevertheless, Barcelona reserves the right to take internal measures which it considers appropriate."
The video first surfaced on social media over the weekend and the CEO of the club's main sponsor Rakuten was the first to express dissatisfaction over the footage.
"Such behavior is unacceptable under any circumstances," Hiroshi Mikitani posted on Twitter on Tuesday. I will make a formal protest in front of the club and get their views.
A source later confirmed that Griezmann had personally apologized to Mikitani and had already apologized on social media.
France Forward wrote that he was "absolutely against all forms of discrimination" and that he "denies the allegations made against me and I am sorry if I have offended any of my Japanese friends."
The fallout continued on Wednesday when Konami, one of Barca's partners in Asia, announced that they had canceled Griezmann's contract to serve as an ambassador for the entertainment company.
Dembele's apology stated: "It all happened in Japan, but it could have happened anywhere on the planet and I would have used the same expression.
"That's why I wasn't targeting any community. I used this type of expression with my friends, regardless of their origins.
"I appreciate that this could have hurt the people in these images. Because of this, I want to sincerely apologize to them."