Tottenham Hotspur have come to support striker Richarlison after he suffered racist abuse while playing for Brazil.
The Spurs striker was on his country’s scoresheet as Brazil went wild against Tunisia on Tuesday, with fresh goals from Raphinha, Neymar and Pedro sealing a 5-1 win in their final game before the FIFA Cup. world this winter.
However, attention shifted away from the football during and after the game as Richarlison was thrown a banana after finding the net.
The Tottenham star led his team 2-1 in the 19th minute at the Parc des Princes in Paris shortly after Tunisia equalized, and the incident happened as he ran towards the corner flag in celebration .
Now, Richarlison’s club Tottenham have reacted to the incident with a strong statement of support.
“We are disgusted by Richarlison’s racist abuse during last night’s game between Brazil and Tunisia,” the club wrote on Twitter alongside a picture of the Brazilian in his country’s shirt.
“It has no place in football, or anywhere else.
“We are with you, Richy.”
FIFA is also ready to investigate the incident.
Richarlison – who signed for the north London club in the summer – took to Twitter after the game to express his frustration that football was not doing enough to tackle racism.
“As long as it’s ‘blah blah blah’ and they don’t punish, it will continue like this, it will happen every day and everywhere. No time bro!” he said.
Speaking to the media after the game, the 25-year-old added: “I was talking about it with [Roberto] Firmino, saying I think God didn’t allow me to see this because I don’t know what I could have done in the heat of the moment.
“Let this fan be identified and punished. It’s tough, you see what happened to Vinicius Jr recently and now this, inside a stadium.
“May the authorities find him and punish him. May this incident teach others not to.
The Brazilian Football Federation also issued a statement on social media condemning the racist abuse.
He said: “After Brazil’s second goal, a banana was thrown at Richarlison. The CBF strengthens its position against discrimination and vehemently denounces a new episode of racism in football.
“Whether on or off the pitch, such attitudes cannot be tolerated.”