Juventus Women football team has apologized for posting a racist anti-Asian picture.
On Twitter, the team’s football account showed a player wearing a red cone on her head whilst pulling her eyes back.
In the caption, three emojis consisting of fingers and a squinting face showed a similar gesture.
The slant-eye gesture is widely regarded as an anti-Asian symbol. In June 2021, a Serbian volleyball player apologized after making a slant-eye gestured towards a Thai team.
20 minutes after posting the image, Juventus Women posted an apology saying, “We sincerely apologise that our tweet, which was not meant to cause controversy or have any racial undertones, may have offended anyone. Juventus has always been against racism and discrimination. #DifferencesMakeTheDifference“
Also in June 2021, American soccer player Megan Rapinoe was criticised for saying “you look Asian with those closed eyes.”
Juventus Women are the reigning champions of Italy. The team was one of the first women’s professional football teams in the country.
In other sports news, Olympic gold medalist Viktor Axelsen has won over Chinese fans by thanking them in Mandarin.
How to lose your job as a social media manager in one post.
For 20 minutes the official Juventus Women’s account had this post up. Awful. pic.twitter.com/eehjorYg1q
— Dexerto (@Dexerto) August 5, 2021
We sincerely apologise that our tweet, which was not meant to cause controversy or have any racial undertones, may have offended anyone. Juventus has always been against racism and discrimination. #DifferencesMakeTheDifference
— Juventus Women (@JuventusFCWomen) August 5, 2021
