Antoine Griezmann has had his contract with video game developer Konami terminated after the leak of a video that showed Barcelona forward laughing while Ousmane Dembele mocked the hotel staff in Japan.
The video was taken during Barca’s pre-season trip to Japan as early as 2019 and it has led to widespread condemnation on social media.
In the clip, Dembele makes fun of the hotel workers who try to fix the couple’s TV. Says, as quoted by the Daily Mail: “All these ugly faces, just so you can play PES [Pro Evolution Soccer], are you not ashamed? “
Dembele then adds: “What kind of backward language is that?” and “Are you technically advanced in your country or not?”
The couple has since apologized and insisted that their actions were not racist. But as reported by Marca, it has not stopped Griezmann from losing his partnership with Konami. He signed with the Japanese digital entertainment company several months ago as a brand ambassador and was planned to market both the upcoming PES video game and also the company’s Yu-Gi-Oh! series.
However, he has now lost that deal and things can get worse for Griezmann even more. Rakuten, a Japanese company that is one of Barcelona’s main sponsors, has also attacked the couple.
Griezmann was part of the French team that was knocked out in the Euro 2020 round for 16 / Marcio Machado / Getty Images
CEO Hiroshi Mikitani wrote on Twitter: “As a sponsor of the club and organizer of this tournament, I am really sorry that Barcelona’s players made discriminatory comments.
“Especially since Rakuten has endorsed the Barcelona philosophy and is sponsoring the club, these types of comments are unacceptable in any case and we will officially protest against the club, as we are waiting to hear their position on the matter.”
Barcelona cannot currently afford to lose one of its financial backers as they are in the midst of a serious financial crisis. After years of overpayments on player salaries, La Liga has prevented them from registering new players until they come in line with salary restrictions.
