FC Barcelona and France teammates Ousmane Dembele and Antoine Griezmann have found themselves in the middle of racism scandal this week after an old video surfaced showing them making racist remarks towards hotel workers during a trip to Japan.

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— JudiMania ?? (@JudiMania7) July 2, 2021

The clip has gone viral in just a few days, and it has been revealed that the video was recorded by Dembele in 2019 for social media platform Snapchat. In the video, Asian hotel staff could be seen fixing a game console for Griezmann, who is also shown having a laugh as his teammate continues filming and making offensive comments.

"All these ugly faces just so you can play PES, aren't you ashamed?" Dembele said to the striker.
"What kind of language is that?," he continued, as he proceeded to mock the technicians' language, looks, and the country's supposed technological advancement.

Griezmann immediately took to Twitter to wash his hands clean of the racism allegations. "I have always been committed against any form of discrimination," he said. "For the past few days, some people have wanted to pass me off as the man I am not. I firmly refute the accusations made against me and I am sorry if I offended my Japanese friends."

Je me suis toujours engagé contre toute forme de discrimination. Depuis quelques jours certaines personnes veulent me faire passer pour l’homme que je ne suis pas. Je réfute avec fermeté les accusations qui me sont portées et je suis désolé si j’ai pu offenser mes amis japonais.

— Antoine Griezmann (@AntoGriezmann) July 5, 2021

Dembele also started facing backlash on social media, after which he shared an apology that was not received warmly by fans and netizens.

"In recent days, a private video dating in 2019 has circulated on social networks. The scene takes place in Japan, but it could have taken place anywhere on the planet and I would have used the same expressions," he said, as if justifying his actions.

"These expressions were not directed towards any particular community. Sometimes I use these types of expressions in private, with friends, regardless of their origin," he said, in stark contrast to his words against the Japanese language and the country.

"Now this video has been released, and I understand that it may hurt the people present in the images. In fact, I offer my sincere apologies," he added.

FC Barcelona and the French National Football Team have not released statements about the issue thus far.

Ousmane Dembele
Ousmane Dembele FRANCK FIFE/AFP
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