A soccer player falsely accused of racially abusing Neymar says he got 2 million angry, threatening messages afterward

• Marseille defender Alvaro Gonzalez says he received 2 million WhatsApp messages, including death threats, from angry fans after being accused of racially abusing Neymar.
• Neymar accused the Spaniard of calling him a "monkey" during a match in September, but he was cleared of any wrongdoing.
• "Every night I go to bed and when I wake up the next morning, I have 20,000 WhatsApp messages," Gonzalez told Onda Cero. "I've had death threats, and so have my parents."
• "To see photographs of my car being posted in social media scared me. I have not left the house in a month."

A Spanish soccer player accused of racially abusing Neymar says he's received 2 million WhatsApp messages, including death threats toward him and his parents, from angry fans after his phone number was shared on social media.

Marseille defender Alvaro Gonzalez was accused by Neymar of calling him a "monkey" during Marseille's heated 1-0 win over Paris Saint Germain on September 13.

Gonzalez was cleared of any wrongdoing by the French football authorities; however, that hasn't stopped the 30-year-old from receiving a torrent of abuse that he says has left him scared to leave his own house.

"I don't know who leaked my phone, but I had 2 million WhatsApp messages when I landed in Marseille from Paris," Gonzalez told Onda Cero. "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 also slammed Neymar, who he said had unjustly damaged his reputation and tried to provoke him.

"Neymar told me he won in one day what I earn in a year, and it's true. I told him I was very happy with my salary," he added. "Neymar's whole game that day was unfortunate, full of provocations.

"I did not make any racist insults — I will not allow my football career and myself to be humiliated. Neymar deserves nothing from me, neither my respect nor anything.

"We had a bad time, not just me, my family and more. If I had said anything to him, it would have appeared on all the cameras."

Neymar himself was also accused of making racial slurs toward Marseille's Japanese defender Hiroki Sakai during the same game, but he too was cleared of any wrongdoing.

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