Andres Iniesta issues apology after controversial ‘blacked up’ photos on his Instagram and Twitter pages

Andres Iniesta has apologised after being caught up in a race row after posing alongside two ‘blacked up’ characters.

The Spain and Barcelona legend (now plying his trade with Vissel Kobe in Japan) shared a picture on his social media pages displaying him posing along with his household celebrating Feliz dias de Reyes – a festive Christian custom in Spain.

Iniesta’s submit was meant to rejoice the arrival of the Three Kings Balthazar, Mechior and Gaspar to the beginning of Jesus to a secure in Bethlehem.

Nonetheless, it precipitated outrage on-line as two of the characters had darkened their pores and skin colors to appropriately painting two of the kings as black.

A staff of advisers representing the 34-year-old have now launched an announcement on-line, claiming the submit was not designed to offend any of his followers.

Reported by Goal, it learn: “On January 6, Andres Iniesta’s household acquired the go to of the Three Kings at his home and determined to {photograph} himself to share this picture along with his followers on the participant’s social networks.

“The presence of the Three Kings belongs to the tradition of our nation, rooted for a few years with which we need to rejoice probably the most magical day of the 12 months with our kids and is a practice that the Iniesta Ortiz household repeats yearly.

“We need to settle the controversy that has arisen round this image through which the three individuals dressed and characterised with make-up seem because the Kings of the East, Gaspar, Melchior, and Baltasar, as occurs in most cavalcades and occasions that had been celebrated in Spain that day.

“At no time did Andres Iniesta need to trouble anybody with that {photograph}, which is the picture of the phantasm in Spain and apologises to these individuals who could have been offended.”