Tottenham striker Richarlison had a banana thrown at him amid racial abuse during Brazil’s friendly win against Tunisia in Paris on Tuesday.
The incident occurred as the former Everton striker ran towards the corner flag to celebrate his side’s second goal in the 5-1 win at the Parc des Princes. Footage showed Manchester United midfielder Fred kicking a banana.
Before the game, the five-time world champions posed for photographs with an anti-racism banner that read: “Without our black players, we wouldn’t have stars on our shirts.”
The Brazilian Football Federation (CBF) issued a statement on Richarlison’s incident via Twitter. It read: “Unfortunately, a banana was thrown onto the pitch towards Richarlison, scorer of Brazil’s second goal.
Richarlison scored for Brazil against Tunisia today and had a banana thrown at him during the celebrations. Nasty stuff and you don’t need these kind of racist fans at matches. pic.twitter.com/DQlKIBcMTm
— Roberto Rojas (@RobertoRojas97) September 27, 2022
“The CBF reinforces its position to combat racism and repudiates any manifestation of prejudice.”
The president of the CBF, Ednaldo Rodrigues, added: “Once again, I come publicly to express my rejection. This time I saw it with my own eyes. This surprises us. We must always remember that we are all equal, regardless of color, race or religion.
“The fight against racism is not a cause, but a fundamental change (battle for) to eliminate this type of crime from the planet. I insist that the punishments must be more severe.”
Richarlison’s goal put Brazil back in front after Montassar Talbi canceled out Raphinha’s opener. Neymar added a penalty, Raphinha added the second and Pedro completed the scoring after Tunisia sent off Dylan Bronn.