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Griezmann called CEO of Barcelona sponsor Rakuten to apologise over alleged racism

The France star has tried to heal the tension between the club and their shirt sponsors after videos emerged of him mocking Asian people

Barcelona striker Antoine Griezmann has called the CEO of club sponsor Rakuten to offer his apologies after videos of him mocking Asian people surfaced online.

The France international was recorded laughing as team-mate Ousmane Dembele insulted staff who were there to fix the television in their hotel room, and in another video Griezmann is heard saying: "Ching chong". The videos are from Barcelona's pre-season tour of Japan in 2019.

Griezmann and Dembele responded to accusations of racism after the videos were shared across social media in recent days, with the former saying: "I firmly refute the accusations made against me and I am sorry if I offended my Japanese friends.