Wayne Lumbasi
In a shocking incident, Brazil’s Richarlison was subjected to racial abuse during his national side’s face-off with Tunisia in a friendly encounter in Paris on Tuesday.
In a match which saw Brazilians dominate the opposition, Richarlison scored a goal as well but at the time of his celebration, someone from the crowd threw a banana near him. Footage showed Manchester United midfielder Fred kicking the banana away while other objects were also thrown onto the pitch.
The racism row has rocked Brazil football recently when Vinicius Junior’s dancing goal celebration was compared to a monkey by the President of the Spanish Football Agents’ Association (AEAF) Pedro Bravo. Vinicius hit out by issuing a statement in which he attacked the agent for racial abuse.
Several notable figures within football have called on the game’s governing bodies – including FIFA – to take action against racism.
The Brazil team sent an anti-racism statement before the start of the friendly to remind Brazilian fans of the value of black players in their ranks. The World Cup favorites posed next to a banner that read, “We wouldn’t have stars on our shirts without our black players.”
