Barcelona say sorry to Vinicius Junior after director called Real Madrid forward a clown

Barcelona have apologised after one of their directors called Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior a 'clown' in a post on social media.

Barça board member Miquel Camps reacted to some showboating by the Brazilian in Real Madrid's Champions League clash at Braga on Tuesday by slamming the 23-year old on X, previously Twitter.

"It's not racism," he wrote. "He deserves a slap for being a clown. What's the meaning of these unnecessary and pointless stepovers in midfield?"

The tweet was hatily deleted, but many screenshots were taken and shared, and Xavi was asked about the post in a press conference on Wednesday.

"If he deleted it, there is no need for me to say anything," he said.

"I don't like anything that generates tension, whether it's trying to condition referees or this tweet. We need a Clasico with fair play and with mutual admiration.

And after Barça's 2-1 win over Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday, Barça vice-president Rafa Yuste said the tweet was inappropriate.

"If Vinicius is listening to me, I want to say that this will not be repeated," he told Movistar.

"Even if it was a mistake, it should not have been posted. It was an inappropriate [post]."

The controversial tweet came just days after Vinicius was targeted with fresh racial abuse in Real Madrid's 1-1 draw at Sevilla and called for a crackdown on the problem in Spain.

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