Richarlison was celebrating his goal against Tunisia when the incident happened
Brazilian football star Richarlison has called on the French authorities to act after a banana was hurled in his direction during a match against Tunisia at the Parc des Princes in Paris on Tuesday.
Richarlison was celebrating his goal in the 19th minute of the international friendly, being joined by teammates as several objects were tossed onto the pitch by enraged rival fans.
When Richarlison turned to gesture to the crowd, the banana was thrown in his direction, landing near his feet.
The forward’s strike had put his team 2-1 ahead after Tunisia’s Montassar Talbi had equalized one minute earlier.
The Brazilians went on to wrap up a 5-1 win, aided in part by a red card to Tunisian defender Dylan Bronn just before half-time.
But the scenes with Richarlison overshadowed the result, with widespread accusations of racism towards the Brazilian star.
“I was talking about this with Roberto [Firmino], saying that I think that God did not allow me to see that because I don’t know what I could have done in the heat of the moment,” the 25-year-old said afterwards, according to Goal.com.
