Liverpool striker defends 'negrito' tweet

Liverpool forward Dani Pacheco’s use of the word “negrito” in a Twitter message to team-mate Glen Johnson forced the young Spaniard to defend himself on the social networking site.

The 21-year-old, who spent last season on loan at Rayo Vallecano, used the term when wishing the England international luck as he headed to Poland for Euro 2012 on Wednesday.

He tweeted: “@glen_johnson good luck negrito!!!!”

Liverpool team-mate Luis Suarez was banned for eight matches for using the same word towards Manchester United’s Patrice Evra in a match at Anfield in October.

The Uruguay international unsuccessfully argued “negrito” was not a derogatory term in the Spanish language, despite its racial connotations in English.

When Pacheco received a couple of critical comments in response to his message he wrote: “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.

“Last tweet about it. @glen_johnson speaks Spanish and he knows what that mean when I say it to him. He is one of best mates there for me.”