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Spanish soccer analyst Lorena González is in hot water after making racist comments about Real Madrid's Eduardo Camavinga. According to a report from the Associated Press, Gonazález said that Camavinga was "blacker than his suit" as he was being interviewed. González believed that she was off-mic at the moment, but many viewers could hear her remarks in real-time.
Shortly after the remarks were made, Spanish broadcast network RTVE said her comments “showed a lack of respect and are inappropriate for a public television channel." RTVE added that it "firmly condemns the denigrating comments.”
While González did not apologize on-air, she did issue a statement via social media. Making the situation worse, she seemingly downplayed her remarks by saying that they were "made without malice or disrespect toward the player." She also claimed that her comments could have been "made about any person of any color." Ultimately, she ended her statement by insinuating that her comments had such an impact because we are going through a "sensitive time."
“My comment, which was made without malice or disrespect toward the player, was however unfortunate,” González wrote, according to the Associated Press.
“It was a comparison that I could have made about any person of any color. But I understand and feel that in this sensitive time we are going through, even though I also believe that things are becoming too radicalized and politicized, the media has an even bigger responsibility to help the fight against racism and any form of unjust inequality.”
Camavinga has not commented on the matter publicly, but he will take the field on Sunday as Real Madrid plays Celta Vigo. Meanwhile, the Associated Press says that RTVE plans to "take the appropriate action" after investigating the matter further.
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