Football
Adriana Garcia 3y

Neymar racism clash led to death threats, 2m WhatsApp messages - Gonzalez

Marseille defender Alvaro Gonzalez has said that Neymar is not worthy of his respect after an investigation into the Brazil international's accusation he was racially abused ended with no action being taken.

Gonzalez was accused by the Paris Saint-Germain forward of directing a racist slur at him during Marseille's 1-0 Ligue 1 triumph at PSG on Sept. 13.

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Gonzalez, who said he received death threats following Neymar's claim, was cleared by French football authorities of any wrongdoing.

"Thankfully, justice has been done," Gonzalez told El Transistor. "I wanted to speak before but the club didn't allow me.

"It [the claims] was a big lie. All the referees came out in my defence. Someone like him doesn't deserve my respect or even my gaze. It would have been easier for the two of us to have spoken and resolved the matter. He [Neymar] hasn't [contacted me]. I live in a city where someone who would be racist could not live. Everyone knows that the s--- fell on me while he was just happy sitting in his house and watching everything happen."

Gonzalez, who denied being racist after the game, said his mobile phone number was leaked on social media leading to an avalanche of messages, many coming from Brazil.

"I don't know who leaked my phone but I had two million WhatsApp messages when I landed in Marseille from Paris," the former Villarreal player said. "Every night I go to bed and when I wake up the next morning, I have 20,000 WhatsApp messages.

"My phone is in the hands of the police. As it is right now, I cannot use it as it's full. The police have managed to block certain groups. I've had death threats and so have my parents. My mother owns a shop and she has received messages, too.

"To see photographs of my car being posted in social media scared me. I have not left the house in a month."

Gonzalez said Neymar's behaviour leaves a lot to be desired. Neymar told Gonzalez during the encounter in Paris that he earned more in a day than he earned in a year.

"It's probably true but it didn't bother me and I told him I was very lucky with what I have," he said. "The point is that we were superior in that game, I was superior to him and that drove him up the wall.

"From the first minute that he made a foul, he started to provoke me but it didn't affect me. I think I'm more intelligent than him and that's why we won the battle.

"Since I started my career at Racing [Santander], I've had lots of defeats and I know how to digest them."

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