Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembele ‘apologises’ for video abusing Japanese hotel workers
- France and Barcelona winger confirms clip was shot in Japan in 2019 but denies he was ‘aiming at any community’
- ‘It could have happened anywhere on the planet, I would have used the same expressions,’ star writes as he offers ‘sincere apologies’
Dembele, who was playing for France at Euro 2020 before they were knocked out by Switzerland, issued a statement via an Instagram Story, the platform’s self-deleting videos.
“Hello everyone,” Dembele wrote in French, “lately, a private video from 2019 circulated on the social networks.”
The 24-year-old confirmed that the scenes were shot in Japan, where the Spanish giants last toured that year. Barcelona’s shirt sponsor Rakuten and video game partner Konami are both based in Japan.
However, Dembele said that what was shown in the video, which has seen him accused of both racism and classism, could have happened anywhere.
“The scene happens in Japan. It could have happened anywhere on the planet, I would have used the same expressions. Therefore I was not aiming at any community.
France star Dembele in race storm for mocking Asian hotel workers
“I happen to use this kind of expressions in private, with friends, and it doesn’t matter their origin.
“This video is now public. Therefore I concede that the video could hurt the people in these images. Therefore, I offer my sincere apologies.”
Dembele, who joined Barcelona from Borussia Dortmund in 2017, then signs off the image of white text on a black background with his name.
The video, which also featured France and Barcelona forward Antoine Griezmann, was widely shared on social networks late last week. Several of those sharing it used the “Stop Asian Hate” hashtag.
Griezmann also issued a statement on Twitter.
“I have always been committed against any form of discrimination. 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 could offend my Japanese friends.”
