A banana was thrown from the crowd at Brazil players celebrating a goal in a friendly against Tunisia in Paris on Tuesday.
Tottenham Hotspur forward Richarlison had just scored the team’s second goal in a 5-1 win at Parc des Princes when the banana was thrown toward him and the other Brazilians celebrating near one of the corner flags. What appeared to be a water bottle and another object also were thrown toward them.
Brazil was using the match to make a statement against racism, with the players posing before kickoff in front of a sign that said: “Without our black players, we wouldn’t have stars on our shirt” — a reference to the five stars above the team crest that represents their five World Cup titles.
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The Brazilian soccer federation condemned the incident and reinforced its stance to “fight against racism,” while the federation president said he was shocked with what happened.
“The punishment for these actions needs to be more severe,” Ednaldo Rodrigues said.
Richarlison’s teammate Vinicius Junior, who plays for Real Madrid, was also subjected to racism by Atletico Madrid fans before the teams’ derby match on Sept. 18.
According to Brazilian media, stadium security personnel unsuccessfully tried to identify the person who threw the banana onto the field.
The game was also briefly paused in two occasions as the crowd were implored not to point laser pens at Brazil players.
The match was Brazil’s last warmup before heading to Qatar for the World Cup, where they will face Serbia, Cameroon and Switzerland in Group G play.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this story.
