Griezmann apologises for blackface photo

After receiving backlash on Twitter, Atletico Madrid and France forward Antoine Griezmann has apologised for posting a picture of himself dressed as a black basketball player.

Earlier, Griezmann posted a picture of himself on Twitter, captioned, "80's Party,'' where he donned a Harlem Globetrotters-like uniform, with a black painted body and an afro-style wig, goal.com  reported.

He, however, deleted the post after a Twitter backlash, with some people calling it racist, and asked people to calm down.

In his second tweet he wrote, "Calm down everyone. I'm a fan of the Harlem Globetrotters and this is a tribute."

Following a string of angry responses against Griezmann of being insensitive, the 26-year-old posted an apology in a third message.

However, Griezmann's original post went viral and had been retweeted more than 15,000 times.

Racism remains a sensitive topic in Spanish football circles, with players at times subjected to abusive chants from fans.

Image: Atletico de Madrid's striker Antoine Greizmann dressed as a black basketball player and posted the picture on Twitter, which he later deleted

Photograph: Antoine Greizmann/Twitter