Antoine Griezmann deletes 'blacked up' fancy dress picture after being branded racist

Antoine Griezmann caused a storm on Twitter after posting a picture of himself blacked up like an American basketball player from the 1980s. He later deleted the tweet.

The Atletico Madrid and France striker wore an Afro wig and blacked up his face, arms and legs for the picture, which was captioned ''80s party" and was accompanied by a basketball emoji and a laughing emoji on his official Twitter feed.

It also appeared on his Instagram account.

Within minutes, the image attracted a storm of criticism, with some accusing the 26-year-old of racism. One user called Roadman Cook said: "Man...delete this fast", adding that "Careers are ruined over this in the US." Others urged him to take it down.

Griezmann sought to counter the criticism by claiming the picture was a tribute to the Harlem Globetrotters, the maverick American basketball team.

READ MORE: West Brom to make final big-money offer to keep Jonny Evans

READ MORE: Mourinho is having to tackle his biggest challenge as a manager

"Calm down guys. I am a fan of the Harlem globetrotters and the good times. It is a tribute."

Within an hour, Griezmann had deleted the image, posting a message in which he apologised if his tweets had offended anyone.

But Griezmann's actions are unlikely to go down well with his team-mates in the national team, many of whom are black.

Racism has long been highlighted as a problem in Spanish football, with the authorities working hard to end monkey chants aimed at black players from the crowd.