PHOTO: Antoine Griezmann Apologises for Moment of Madness Over 'Blackface' Globetrotters Costume

Atletico Madrid ace Antoine Griezmann has publicly apologised after he caused outrage on social media following a post depicting himself blackface as part of a fancy dress costume. 

The 26-year-old came under fire after uploading a picture of himself doused in black paint and dressed in a Harlem Globetrotters' outfit. 

Initially the France international had told his followers to calm down, after a wave of angry responses to his decision to sport the costume. 

"Calm down everyone. I'm a fan of the Harlem Globetrotters and this is a tribute", Griezmann tweeted from his official Twitter account, as quoted by The Mirror. 

However, the barrage of complaints continued in the player's direction, and eventually he removed the image from the social media platform while issuing an apology. 

"I recognise that it was insensitive on my part", he added. "If I have offended some people I apologise."

As expected, during the fallout of Griezmann's post, several people on Twitter slammed the attacker for his actions, including David Lammy, Labour MP for Tottenham. 

"There are so, so many different options for an 80s party, or a night out at the darts for that matter, that don't involve blackface", the 45-year-old tweeted.

"I can't believe we're out here in 2017 saying don't dress up in blackface."

The Atleti star's post came just 24 hours removed from a UK betting company landing itself in hot-water after posting an image of a member of the public attending the darts dressed up as Labour MP Diane Abbott - again with blackface.