The Luis Suarez race storm that rocked English football last season has been blown open once more after Liverpool forward Daniel Pacheco referred to team-mate Glen Johnson as ‘negrito’ on Twitter.
The Spaniard, 21, used the word when wishing England international Johnson luck as he headed to Poland for Euro 2012 on Wednesday. He tweeted: ‘@glen_johnson good luck negrito !!!!’
Suarez was charged and banned by the FA for eight games for repeatedly calling Patrice Evra ‘negrito’ during a clash between Liverpool and Manchester United at Anfield in October.
In his unsuccessful defence, Uruguayan Suarez argued that ‘negrito’ was not a derogatory term in the Spanish language, despite its racial connotations in English.
Pacheco later defended his use of the word with similar reasoning, tweeting: ‘I Allready explained in past what Negrito could mean. Good or bad depends how you say it. I always called @glen_johnson it in terms of love.’
He added: ‘Last tweet about it. @gln glen_johnson speak spanish and he knows what that mean when I say it to him. He is one of best mates there for me.’
Pacheco has made just seven appearances for Liverpool since joining the club in 2007. He spent last season on loan at Rayo Vallecano via a separate loan spell at Atletico Madrid, who have an option to buy the Spain Under-21 international this summer.
