Wales rugby union international Liam Williams has apologised "for any offence" caused after he dressed up as Swansea City striker Wilfried Bony.
Rugby star causes outrage after 'blacking up' for Wilfried Bony costume http://t.co/GUMk4EnvIW pic.twitter.com/X5swaOhfQm
- Telegraph News (@TelegraphNews) December 22, 2014
Williams, 23, was pictured in a Swansea kit -- alongside three of his club colleagues -- on Twitter, wearing full face paint.
The Scarlets full-back posted a message on his personal Twitter account on Dec. 20 saying that Bony gave the costume his blessing.
@glitterylou little do you eggs know, I know Wilfred through mutual friend and he is okay with it!
- Liam Williams (@SanjayWills) December 20, 2014
However, Williams posted an apology on Twitter a day later, saying: "I am very sorry for any offence caused by my actions. I'm not a racist and there was no malice behind it."
Former Wales captain Phil Davies defended Williams, telling BBC Sport: "Players have to make sure when they post things on social media, it's appropriate and doesn't cause offence. I'm sure Liam certainly didn't mean to do that.
"Liam's a pretty jovial character. He's a young man but it just highlights again the responsibilities professional players have. They have responsibilities and I think in the main they do deliver."
Williams' apology was part of a statement issued by his regional team the Scarlets.
The rugby union club's statement read: "Scarlets is fully committed to eradicating discrimination and promoting equality for both staff and our customers by treating people fairly and according to their needs.
"Scarlets is proud of its record in promoting equality and non-discriminatory behaviour amongst all our employees, and this applies to the way we behave to members of the public and to other employees.
"No further comment will be made by Scarlets Regional Ltd or Williams on this matter."
Information from PA Sport was used in this report.