Argentina men’s volleyball team under fire for ‘slant-eyed’ gesture during celebratory group photo shot

• Several members of the South American team make the offensive gesture after beating China and qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics
• Argentina star player Facundo Conte, who plays for professional club Shanghai, are among the players whose racist behaviour has angered netizens

The Argentina men's volleyball team have been accused of racism after making "slant-eyed" gestures as they celebrated qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics in a group photo in China.

After defeating the hosts in five sets in a pool F match played in Ningbo over the weekend, some players from the South American squad used their fingers to lengthen their eyes, insulting Chinese and Asian netizens who disapproved of what they deemed was racist behaviour.

The Argentine players who made the offensive gesture included the team's star spiker, Facundo Conte, the 2015 Pan American games gold medallist, who also plies his trade at Chinese club Shanghai Golden Age. The 29-year-old Conte, an outside hitter, uploaded a photo of his teams' celebration, without the rude gesture, in his Instagram account.

View this post on Instagram

Tokyo 2020 alla vamossss Que felicidad y orgullo ser parte de este equipo, los que estamos aca, quienes jugaron el panamericano, un gran y largo equipo junto dejando todo por la celeste y blanca Haciendolo solos, no solo sin ayuda de nuestra federacion, sino sintiendo que los unicos que queremos lo mejor para la seleccion somos nosotros! Hasta hemos recibido mensajes diciendo "si no quieren jugar, que se vayan, habra otros para jugar" Quisiera ver como la seleccion hubiese logrado esta clasificacion, el oro panamericano, el bronce panamericano femenino y todo este hermoso movimiento sin que todos estos jugadores no estuvieran siempre dispuestos a dejar todo por la seleccion Cuanto nos gustaria que el voley este en manos del voley, y no de personas sin escrupulos que nada saben de este hermoso deporte Antes todo y siempre Vamos Argentina Carajo

A post shared by Facu Conte (@facuconte7) on Aug 11, 2019 at 9:54am PDT

"Never come to any Asian country again, shame on u," said carlsong083 of Conte's posting which has received more than 11,000 likes.

"They think they are superior and discriminate this person and that person," said 1314lizhenming1314.

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"How can a developing country discriminate against Asian countries. They are not superior to others," said another.

"I don't understand how these South Americans have this self confidence. They are poor and chaotic, with the highest crime rate in the world. They also discriminate against Asians," commented Free Cloud.

Conte's Instagram drew many negative comments from Chinese netizens, who were alarmed by the Argentine's behaviour, especially as he has been living and playing in China's professional league since 2016.

"You respected us because you brought the championship to Shanghai. We will never forget that. But your behaviour last night was COMPLETELY inappropriate!" said one user.

"Please give us an apology! NO RACISM."

Other netizens said the Chinese Volleyball Association should take substantive action against the Argentina team.

It's not the first time that European teams have made "slant-eyed" gestures in their group photos with Spanish and other European players getting on the act in past years.

Just last week, the Russia assistant women's volleyball coach, Sergio Busat, an Italian, made the same gesture even though this behaviour has been banned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as they fight against racism in sport.

The Russian coach's action, after Russia beat South Korea, was condemned by South Korean netizens.

Meanwhile, China were disappointed not to have earned an automatic spot to Tokyo.

"It's a pity that we came undone by our own errors," said China player Zhang Zhejia after the game.

"We should improve our mentality and tactics. We did our best in our three matches. We will work hard for the Continental Qualification Tournaments in January."

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As one of the 24 best world-ranked teams, China's men's volleyball team are aiming to secure Olympic qualification in the Continental Olympic Qualification Tournaments (COQT). Five Continental Olympic Qualification Tournaments will take place in Asia, Africa, Europe, South America, North and Central America in January 2020. The winner of each of the five Continental Olympic Qualification Tournaments qualify for Tokyo.

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