Richarlison has called for action against racism after a banana was thrown from the stands following his goal for Brazil on Tuesday.
The Tottenham star scored Brazil’s second goal in a friendly against Tunisia, which ended up as a 5-1 win for the South American powerhouse.
But the game at Parc des Princes in Paris was marred by the incident during Richarlison’s celebration, with Brazil midfielder Fred kicking the banana off the pitch.
In a post on Twitter after the game, Richarlison demanded action, saying: “As long as they stay ‘blah blah blah’ and don’t punish, it will continue like this, happening every day and everywhere. No time bro! #racismonao [racism no].”
The Brazilian federation (CBF) also spoke out against the incident, saying on Twitter: “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.”
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
— CBF Futebol (@CBF_Futebol) September 27, 2022
FIFA released a statement on Wednesday saying it would investigate the incident.
“First and foremost, FIFA strongly rejects any form of racism and violence and has a very clear zero tolerance stance against such behavior in football,” it read. “FIFA will investigate the incident in yesterday’s game in Paris.”
The incident with Richarlison must have been particularly discouraging for Brazil, which posed with a banner against racism prior to the game in support of Vinícius Jr., another of its players who has recently been subject to racial abuse.
“Without our black players, we wouldn’t have stars on our shirts,” the banner read, referring to the five stars representing five World Cup titles.
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