Griezmann apologises for 'awkward' fancy dress

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After being accused of racism for dressing up in blackface as a basketball player, Antoine Griezmann later agreed he had made a mistake.

Atletico Madrid striker Antoine Griezmann has apologised amid accusations of racism after posting a picture of himself in 'blackface' make-up on social media.

The France international attracted criticism after posting an image on Twitter of himself dressed as a Harlem Globetrotter, wearing a full basketball kit, an afro wig and black body and face paint in a picture captioned "80's party", along with an emoji indicating joyous laughter.

Griezmann's original post had been retweeted more than 15,000 times as the image went viral around the world.

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"Calm down guys," wrote the Atleti star. "I'm a fan of the Harlem Globetrotters and the good times... it's a tribute."

However, he then deleted both his initial picture and the follow-up post, instead writing: "I agree that it's awkward for me. If I hurt some people excuse me."