Barcelona star Raphinha has accused Disneyland Paris of racism after claiming his son was snubbed by staff at the theme park when he asked for a hug from a mascot, while ‘all white children get hugs’
Barcelona and Brazil star Raphinha has accused mascots at Disneyland Paris of being racist – after ignoring his son’s pleas for a hug while while embracing “all the white children”. The former Leeds United ace, a Ballon d’Or contender, let rip in a fiery social media post.
The Brazilian ace labelled the mascots “disgraceful” as he shared a video which allegedly showed his child Gael being overlooked. The clip showed several kids being hugged by cuddly chipmunk mascots, Chip and Dale.
Dressed in a red tracksuit, Gael gestures for a hug but the staff member stands up. The youngster is seen patting the mascot’s leg in an attempt to get their attention which is also ignored. In a third attempt, an adult carries Gael over to the mascot at chest height but still no hug comes.
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Taking to Instagram, an angry Raphinha wrote: “Your employees are a disgrace. You shouldn’t treat people like that, especially a CHILD.
“You’re supposed to make children happy, not snub a child. I prefer to say it was snubbing, to say nothing else. You’re a disgrace.”
Indicating that the child’s race played a role in his kid’s upset, he wrote: “I understand the fatigue of those who work with this, but why were all the white children embraced and my son wasn’t?”
Raphinha added: “I hate you, Disneyland… He just wanted a hello and a hug. Lucky for you, he doesn’t get it. That employee is s*****.”
Disneyland Paris has been contacted for comment.
The incident comes after, last month, a family claimed their magical Disney holiday was ruined after an administrative error led to their park tickets being cancelled.
Sue Batters forked out more than £3,000 to treat her two daughters and five grandsons to a three-day break at Disneyland Paris. The comprehensive deal, booked through Times and Travels UK, included Eurostar travel, hotel stays, and access to both main theme parks – Disneyland and Walt Disney Studios.
The 68 year-old said everything ran without a hitch until their last day, when their Disneyland tickets suddenly stopped working and they found out they had been cancelled.
She said: “I was in tears. My grandchildren kept asking me why I was crying. What are you supposed to do when you have five children who want to go to Disney? They did not understand why we could not get in.”
The London-based firm has since apologised and admitted that the day tickets were cancelled by its supplier without notice.
Sue, who lives in Allhallows, on the Hoo Peninsula, Kent, had originally been wary of the package deal that popped up on her Facebook timeline, as she didn’t know the travel company.
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