Antoine Griezmann apologises after '˜blacking up' for fancy dress
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The Atletico Madrid and France forward’s initial tweet, captioned “80’s Party”, showed Griezmann in an NBA All Stars basketball kit with heavily darkened skin and an afro-style wig.
After a string of angry responses, Griezmann returned to Twitter to post: “Calm down friends, I’m fan of the Harlem globetrotters and the good times... it’s a tribute”
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More than 20 minutes after that post, he added: “I recognise it is clumsy on my part. If I have hurt anyone, I apologise.”
After apologising, Griezmann deleted the original image from his verified Twitter and Instagram accounts.
The 26-year-old was linked with a move to Manchester United during the summer and has reportedly been attracting recent interest from Barcelona.
However, he faced a string of angry responses to his choice of costume, with many social media users accusing him of racism and suggesting he delete the initial tweet before he eventually did so.
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Former Liverpool forward Stan Collymore tweeted: “Wikipedia often is miles off. On blackface, it’s actually done some homework. Give it a read, have a think, then put yourself in the shoes of generations of BAME human beings ridiculed. At least try!”