Antoine Griezmann has had his contract with video game developer Konami cancelled following the leak of a video that showed the Barcelona forward laughing while Ousmane Dembele mocked hotel staff in Japan.
The video was taken during Barca's pre-season tour to Japan back in 2019 and it has led to widespread condemnation on social media.
In the clip Dembele makes fun of the hotel workers attempting to fix the pair's television. Saying, as quoted by the Daily Mail: "All these ugly faces, just so you can play PES [Pro Evolution Soccer], aren't you ashamed?"
Dembele then adds: "What kind of backward language is that?" and "Are you technologically advanced in your country or not?"
The pair have since apologised, insisting that their actions were not racist. However, as reported by Marca, that has not stopped Griezmann losing his partnership with Konami. He signed with the Japanese digital entertainment company several months ago as a brand ambassador and was set to promote both the upcoming PES video game and also the company's Yu-Gi-Oh! series.
He has now lost that deal, though, and things could get worse for Griezmann yet. Rakuten, a Japanese company that is one of Barcelona's principal sponsors, have also hit out at the pair.
CEO Hiroshi Mikitani wrote on Twitter: "As a sponsor of the club and organiser of this tournament, I am really sorry that the Barcelona players made discriminatory remarks.
"Especially as Rakuten has approved of the Barcelona philosophy and is a sponsor of the club, these sorts of remarks are unacceptable in all circumstances and we will protest officially against the club, as we wait to hear their position on the matter."
Barcelona cannot afford to lose one of their financial backers currently as they are in the midst of a dire financial crisis. After years of overspending on player wages La Liga has prevented them from registering any new players until the come in line with salary restrictions.
This article was originally published on 90min as Antoine Griezmann has Konami deal cancelled in wake of leaked video .
Source: www.90min.com