Barcelona player Antoine Griezmann has been let go from his recently acquired position as ambassador to the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise. Konami has decided to part ways with Griezmann following allegations of racism against the 30-year-old Frenchman.
A 2019 video of Griezmann was recently shared around social media, showing the soccer star (along with teammate Ousmane Dembele) mocking the Asian staff of a hotel as they attempt to fix an issue with the players’ room. In response to the video, many online were angered over the behavior of the two players. The backlash has led to Konami officially terminating its partnership with Griezmann, which placed him as ambassador to all the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise, including the popular card game, video game series, and anime series.
Related: Rumour: PES Might Be Going Free-To-Play This Year
“Konami Digital Entertainment believes, as is the philosophy of sports, that discrimination of any kind is unacceptable”, said Konami in an official statement regarding the controversy. The company then confirmed the cancellation of the partnership with Griezmann: “Previously we had announced Antoine Griezmann as our Yu-Gi-Oh! contents ambassador, however in light of recent events we have decided to cancel the contract.”
Konami entered the relationship with Griezmann after the soccer star tweeted out how much he loved the anime series. This partnership would have helped promote the franchise through Griezmann, a popular sports star, while allowing a fan to live out their Yu-Gi-Oh dreams. Along with becoming the ambassador to the franchise, Griezmann was also given his own Yu-Gi-Oh card, and would have been included in the advertising for the series.
Griezmann and Dembele have both taken to social media to respond to the video and apologize. On Twitter, Griezmann said “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”.
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
Meanwhile, Dembele posted a lengthy Instagram video (now unavailable) where he stated: “Hello all, during these last few days, a private video dating back to 2019 has been circulating on social media, it all took place in Japan, it could've taken place anywhere on the planet and I would've used the same expression. I was therefore not targeting any community. I just happened to use this type of expression with my friends regardless of their origins. This video has since been made public. I appreciate therefore that it could've hurt the people present in these images. Because of this, I would like to sincerely apologize to them."
As Konami is also the developer of the PES football game franchise, it also holds relationships with many football clubs worldwide. Since Griezmann is a member of Barcelona FC, Konami expressed that it has reached out to the club to “explain the details of this case and its future actions”. It is yet unclear whether any action will be taken on the players by Barcelona FC.
Source: IGN
Next: Brie Larson's YouTube Success Is Vindication From The Trolls
