Barcelona[1] forward Raphinha[2] has accused Disneyland Paris of racism after his young son was allegedly ignored by a mascot while other children were hugged.
Currently on international duty with Brazil, he took to social media to voice his anger after videos from the resort appeared to show the two-year-old being overlooked.
The footage, shared on his Instagram story yesterday, showed several children being embraced by a mascot while Raphinha’s son, Gael, stood away to the side.
Gael then gestured to the costumed staff, seemingly asking for a hug.
Further clips even showed an unidentified adult carrying the boy over to the mascot in a last-ditch attempt to get their attention, but again, Gael did not receive attention.
‘Your employees are disgraceful,’ Raphinha said. ‘You shouldn’t treat people like this, especially a CHILD. You’re supposed to make children happy, not ignore a child. I prefer to say “ignore”, rather than anything else. You’re a disgrace.’
Barcelona forward Raphinha has accused Disneyland Paris employees of racism
Footage showed the footballer’s young son, Gael, allegedly being ignored by mascots
Raphinha said the employee was ‘s****y’ before declaring he ‘hated’ the resort
He then accused the mascot of deliberately ignoring Gael because of his skin colour.
‘I understand the fatigue of those who work with this, but why did all the white children get hugs and not my son?’ he said. ‘I hate you, Disneyland.
‘He just wanted a hello and a hug. Lucky for you, he doesn’t get it.
‘That employee is s****y.’
Disneyland have not issued an official response to the footballer’s allegation. Daily Mail Sport has approached the resort for comment.
Raphinha was thousands of miles away at the time of the incident, having started in Brazil’s 3-0 World Cup qualifying victory over Chile at the Maracana.
He is also expected to feature against Bolivia in El Alto on Wednesday before returning to club duties at Barcelona ahead of their match against Valencia.
The 28-year-old has spoken openly on facing racism throughout his career.
He had been away on international duty with Brazil when the incident took place
During a game against Real Valladolid in 2023, after he was substituted, he unveiled an undershirt emblazoned with a message which read: ‘Whilst the colour of skin is more important than the colour of eyes, there will be war.’
The words were a show of support for Real Madrid superstar Vinicius Junior, his compatriot, who has been targeted with racial abuse on multiple occasions.
In November 2024, Raphinha and his Barcelona team-mate Lamine Yamal were subjected to racial abuse during their side’s 4-0 victory against Real Madrid.
Police in Spain later confirmed three arrests were made for ‘racist insults aimed as two footballers’. Both clubs and LaLiga condemned the abuse.