Ousmane Dembélé and Antoine Griezmann have responded via Instagram to the video that made the rounds on social media last Friday. The old video showed how Dembélé, together with Antoine Griezmann, ridiculed several people who are trying to solve a technological problem in their hotel room. Dembélé was told to mock the technicians’ Asian background and appearance.
“Good day everyone”, that’s how Dembélé starts his response on Instagram Stories. The video appears to date from the summer of 2019, when Barcelona were preparing for the new season in Japan. “There has been a private video from 2019 going around the internet lately. This took place in Japan. It could have happened anywhere in the world, I would have expressed myself the same way. I wasn’t targeting any particular community. In a private situation where I am with friends, I sometimes express myself this way, regardless of their origin.”
ah ouais ils sont comme ça Antoine Griezmann et Ousmane Dembele ? #StopAsianHate pic.twitter.com/JJFBk6X0nZ
— ???????????????????? (@duatleti) July 1, 2021
“The video has now come out and I can imagine that I have offended people with this. To them I would like to offer my sincere apologies,” Dembélé writes. Griezmann also makes himself heard via Twitter: “I have always opposed any form of discrimination. For the past few days, people have wanted to portray me as someone who is not against discrimination. I deny all accusations made against me and apologize if I have hurt my Japanese friends.”
Dembélé recorded the video and therefore only his legs can be seen in the video. Griezmann is well in the picture, but it is unclear what he is saying. Dembélé can be heard clearly and says to Griezmann: “All these ugly faces, just so you can play PES, aren’t you ashamed?” Then Dembélé says, among other things, “What kind of backward language is that?” and “Are you technologically advanced in your country or not?” Meanwhile, the technicians are brought into the picture and Dembélé seems to be laughing at them.
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