Dembélé and Griezmann accused of anti-Asian racism: five questions about this controversial video

Since Friday, the names of the footballers of the France team Antoine Griezmann and especially Ousmane Dembélé have been conspired on social networks.

In question: a video probably shot by the second in a hotel room in Japan in the summer of 2019 and having leaked in a still unclear context.

We see Dembélé mock the staff of Asian origin of the establishment, alongside his friend from FC Barcelona and the Blues sitting next to him.

The two players have so far not reacted to the many accusations of anti-Asian racism made on social networks.

Still, this episode recalls the episode of the "blackface" that tarnished the reputation of Antoine Griezmann in 2017.

What does this video show?

This 42-second extract brings together two sequences filmed with his mobile phone by Ousmane Dembélé, highly recognizable by his voice.

They were most likely shared at the time on a Snapchat account.

The attacker is seated on his bed.

Antoine Griezmann is to his left.

And in front of them, four hotel staff are busy installing the famous Japanese football simulation video game “Pro Evolution Soccer” on the hotel room TV.

ah yeah they are like that Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembélé?

#StopAsianHate pic.twitter.com/JJFBk6X0nZ

- 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇪🇸 (@duatleti) July 1, 2021

“All those dirty faces… To play PES.

You're not ashamed, ”we can then hear Dembélé say, zooming in on the face of one of the hotel employees, then on Antoine Griezmann who smiles and seems to nod.

"Oh damn, the language", resumes in the second extract Dembélé, to which Griezmann responds something by laughing, but without his words being audible.

"Are you ahead or you're not ahead in your country, yeah?"

!

»Launches the native of Évreux one last time.

What is the context?

This sequence dates from the summer of 2019, according to Dutch media and research by the newspaper Liberation.

FC Barcelona was then on a summer tour in Japan, as clubs often do before the start of the season.

According to the South China Morning Post, the technicians in the room were identified as Japanese nationals.

An official promotional video of the Catalan club also attests to this trip, in which we see Antoine Griezmann imitating the Asian accent (4 minutes and 44 seconds).

Why is this video only showing up now?

This is the major question mark in this dossier. Liberation was able to get in touch with two Internet users who broadcast these images on Friday. They claim to have done so without consulting each other. According to them, the link to these Snapchat videos would have been recorded at the time by certain Internet users having access to Ousmane Dembélé's personal account, and not to his official account.

“It was sent to me in August 2019. His private story

(Editor's note: from Dembélé)

is visible only to his relatives or people who surround him near or far.

The video I had already posted on May 13 or 14, 2020

(but it had not exceeded my subscribers in terms of visibility)

.

I posted the video on Friday because I knew it would have a better chance of having a lot more visibility, ”says the man behind the @Erwan_Fran Twitter account.

What are the reactions on social networks?

Both players are accused of fueling anti-Asian racism with these stereotypical remarks.

These images have been relayed several thousand times and have collected more than 1 million cumulative views, often with the same hashtag in the comment “StopAsianHate”.

"What immaturity and lack of respect ..." lamented the Association of Young Chinese of France (AJCF).

"Are we doing something to educate these players who are supposed to represent France?"

She called out to the French Football Federation.

What immaturity and lack of respect ... @FFF, are we doing something to educate these players who are supposed to represent France?

#StopAsianHate https://t.co/k8nkhtBCyW

- AJCF - Association of Young Chinese of France (@ajcf_fr) July 3, 2021

Did Ousmane Dembélé and Antoine Griezmann react?

For the time being, neither has spoken.

Antoine Griezmann, who apologized to the episode of “blackface” in 2017, sees his public image again tarnished.

The former Real Sociedad player was recently inducted into the “official ambassador” of the playing card game Yu-Gi-Oh!

By Konami (Japanese company that produces the PES game).

He is also cited as one of the muses of the next edition of the PES game.

FC Barcelona is observing the same silence for the time being, while some Internet users are calling on the Japanese brand Rakuten, e-commerce giant and sponsor of the club, to position itself.