Tottenham forward Richarlison had a banana thrown at him as he was racially abused during Brazil's friendly win over Tunisia in Paris on Tuesday, sparking massive outrage across social media platforms.
In what has sparked massive public outrage, a banana was thrown at Tottenham Hotspur star Richarlison during Brazil's friendly victory over Tunisia in Paris on Tuesday. The incident, being pegged as racial abuse, occurred after the former Everton forward ran towards the corner flag in celebration of the goal scored in Brazil's 5-1 victory at the Parc des Princes.
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The banana was kicked away on camera by Manchester United player Fred as more items were tossed into the field.
A banana thrown onto the pitch at Richarlison? In 2022? Where is the vitriol we had when he did kick-ups in a Premier League game? The complacency over racism in football is returning. pic.twitter.com/45LzgRgyXp
— Darren Lewis (@MirrorDarren)Before the friendly, five-time World Cup champions, Brazil posted photographs with an anti-racism banner that read, 'Without our black players, we wouldn't have stars on our shirts'.
In a statement issued following the incident, the Brazilian Football Federation (CBF) condemned Richarlison for being racially abused and demanded strong punishment.
"After Brazil's second goal, a banana was thrown towards Richarlison. The CBF reinforces its stance against discrimination and vehemently repudiates yet another episode of racism in football. Whether on or off the field, attitudes like this cannot be tolerated," the statement read.
Após o segundo gol do Brasil, uma banana foi arremessada em direção a Richarlison. A CBF reforça seu posicionamento contra a discriminação e repudia veementemente mais um episódio de racismo no futebol.
📷: Lucas Figueiredo / CBF pic.twitter.com/hcUqBjFxrz
Meanwhile, Richarlison stated racism would continue in football if no stringent punishment was handed out. "As long as they keep 'blah blah blah' and don't punish, it's going to continue like this, happening every day and in every corner," the Tottenham forward added.
Enquanto ficarem de "blá blá blá" e não punirem, vai continuar assim, acontecendo todos os dias e por todos os cantos. Sem tempo, irmão! pic.twitter.com/p8GqMPqUKa
— Richarlison Andrade (@richarlison97)Brazilian defender Thiago Silva too, condemned the act. "I was saddened by the gesture they made because that's not football," he said. "Football is about supporting your team. Afterwards, on the pitch, we try to give our all for our national team. But gestures like that are not good for football," the Chelsea star said.
CBF president Ednaldo Rodrigues remarked, "Once again, I come publicly to express my rejection. This time I saw it with my own eyes. This shocks us. We must always remember that we are all the same, regardless of colour, race or religion."
"The fight against racism is not a cause, but a fundamental [battle for] change to wipe this type of crime from the planet. I insist on saying that the punishments need to be more severe," he added.
Richarlison's striker put Brazil back ahead after Tunisia's Montassar Talbi cancelled out Raphinha's opening goal. PSG star Neymar added a penalty, Raphinha claimed his second and Pedro wrapped up the scoring after Tunisia had Dylan Bronn sent off.
Here's a look at how football fans reacted to the incident on Twitter:
My heart goes out to Richarlison. How gutting must it be to score for your country only to be racially taunted by some ignorant bastard? https://t.co/xbR6DO7D3J
— Charlie’s dad (@flufan)Not acceptable in 2022. Racists are not welcome. https://t.co/17qekePSY1
— Tanya Owens 🌸 (@tanyaowens357)Taking the knee for how long for what. doesn’t give a shit about racism. https://t.co/ve28jma3kg
— E V S (@MrValentine93)It’s disgraceful! We are all with you 💙 https://t.co/Vw6tYDUTnd
— Harry (@HarryScarfe22)My striker. There is no room for racism. https://t.co/fbwsqw3KKy
— RadmoreB (@RadmoreB)Jogaram uma banana na comemoração do gol do Richarlison.
Racistas nojentos, vão ter que engolir o brasil na copa! 🔥🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/X6JcXwFdpG
I woke up angry so I’m tweeting again. Scratching my head as to why there has been little or no outrage to the Richarlison racism, then I remembered it’s only a missile 😬 pic.twitter.com/B0oJPN7vVE
— 𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐲 𝐓𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐝 (@Towno10)I swear these french and Tunisian fans have no shame at all, this is just a disgrace to Football.
I have completely lost my sympathy for Tunisia.
Also Brazil seems to be in an insanely good form,makes me very happy https://t.co/idcRGYW5if
What an absolute joke! Still can’t believe racism is happening! https://t.co/nLWCC0utLD
— Chris Grimes (@ChrisGrimes000)O Inter se solidariza com o atleta e reforça seu engajamento contra todo e qualquer tipo de preconceito. ✊ Estamos juntos nessa luta, . 🇦🇹🤝🇧🇷 https://t.co/65YiwbCAJr
— Sport Club Internacional (@SCInternacional)This is certainly unacceptable by some racist fans 🤮😡 even if we're losing it's all about respect 😠 https://t.co/RNDYyQj9mU
— Ibrahim 🇵🇸🇹🇳 (@KiingEren)The complacency never went anywhere, the tiny fins handled out, the refusal to close grounds , the refusal in the main to hand out lifetime bans for offenders show that!
A few slogans is not taking it seriously at all, this kind of SHITE will continue to happen until it is! https://t.co/FpxrnseyYB
The fact we have to talk about this is fuckin disgusting it's 2022, racism in any form shouldn't be tolerated in society,sport or any walk of life, sort that shit out 😡💙👍 https://t.co/2DQ9JhJq8r
— Mickmc1878 (@mickmckeown80)If FIFA really wanted to make a statement about their stance on racism then they should ban Tunisia from the World Cup https://t.co/x0duf6bhwt
— LJ (@LJ_bets)FFS it’s 2022 and this is still allowed to go on - I appreciate it may be difficult to identify individuals and/or punish them - but until TEAMS themselves are punished or STADIUMS are closed it will continue to happen https://t.co/uegOukNSQ1
— AVilla youth teams (@AVillaFootball)Appalling. And this partly is why things aren’t changing. Astonishing attitude. https://t.co/GpezMBJlYA pic.twitter.com/TU1jSzJ1hI
— Emily✨ (@_emilyoram)How is this happening in 2022!! 😡
Where’s the punishment? What are the consequences. we support you ❤️ https://t.co/f0WPZdhr8l
I have said it a hundred times, - until is ready to take a very tough line with its member associations that don’t deal firmly with football racism in their countries, NOTHING will change. I know this for a fact, from first-hand experience. https://t.co/ZMOb5kAhHC
— Osasu Obayiuwana (@osasuo)