Lionel Messi has reportedly become the latest football star to be accused of using racist language. Royston Drenthe, who played against the Barcelona sensation in Spain, claims Messi would regularly direct racial slurs toward him, according to Mirror Football:

You know what bothers me so? That tone with which he always says, 'negro, negro'. I understand that 'negro' in South America is very common, but we can not stand it.

Mahamadou Diarra, my teammate at Real, could explode if 'negro' was aimed at him. The Argentinean Gabriel Heinze and Gonzalo Higuain said it initially on the training ground, but they were stopped.

The timing of the accusations from Drenthe are strange, considering he has spent the entire season on loan to Everton in England. Nevertheless, these types of claims are treated very seriously by the football community, which has taken a strong stance against racism.

As most fans will remember, Manchester United defender Patrice Evra made similar claims about Luis Suarez of Liverpool, which eventually led to an eight-game ban. Suarez and Messi both come from South America, and Suarez claimed the term "negro" gets used more freely there.

It's the first time anybody has made claims like this about Messi, so it's important not to jump to conclusions. The Barca striker has done plenty of anti-racism promotions, making these accusations even more surprising.

One factor that definitely comes into play is cultural differences. In the report, Drenthe says Messi addressed him by saying, "Hola, negro." While that's still unacceptable in most corners of the world, it apparently isn't as big of a deal in Argentina, and it doesn't seem to have any malice behind it.

Since the claims are covering a wide-ranging time period when Drenthe and Messi crossed paths and not one specific incident, it's hard to imagine Messi facing the same type of punishment Suarez did from the English FA.

In fact, the chances that he faces any punishment at all would seem slim, since there's a lack of evidence. It's really Drenthe's word against Messi's word, and that's not enough to warrant a ban.

That would change if more accusers come out, however.

Either way, it should be a learning experience for Messi. If he's been using racial terms to address opponents, he should stop it moving forward. Even if he hasn't meant for it to be viewed in a derogatory way, it's better to avoid it all together.

The last thing the sport needs is its biggest star wrapped up in a racism scandal. Messi can easily avoid the problem by making sure his word choice remains clean, and he's smart enough to do exactly that.