Football star Neymar racially abused Marseille’s Japanese player Hiroki Sakai, calling him "Chinese sh**”, Spanish radio station Cadena SER reported, citing obtained footage. Videos posted online show Neymar approach Sakai and angrily tell him something. There’s no audio in the footage, so the claim can't be verified.
The incident occurred on 13 September, when PSG lost to Marseille. The match ended in a brawl, with five athletes, including Neymar, being shown red cards. Following the game, the Brazilian accused Marseille defender Alvaro Gonzalez of racially abusing him. Neymar claimed that the Spanish athlete called him a "monkey motherf****r". Gonzalez categorically denied the allegation.
Last week, Brazil’s Globo Esporte TV programme said that PSG had found a video of the incident and sent it to the French football league in order to prove that Neymar was telling the truth. Three lip-reading experts interviewed by Globo Esporte sided with Neymar, saying Gonzalez had made a racial slur at him; Spanish lip-reading experts, however, disagreed.
The French League plans to review the allegations made against Neymar on 30 September and if the athlete did indeed racially abuse his opponent, he may be suspended until 2021. However, Neymar will be allowed to play for his team in UEFA’s Champions League.
