Thailand ended the second week of the 2021 FIVB Volleyball Nations League with yet another defeat after they lost to the United States 3-0 in Rimini, Italy, on Wednesday.

The Thai team remained without a win after six matches in the annual tournament as they lost to the top-ranked Americans, who claimed their sixth straight victory.

It was an impressive performance from the Thai team but the match was marred by a 'racist' controversy involving Serbian Sanja Djurdevic, who was caught on camera celebrating a point by making a 'slant eyed' gesture, which created a huge backlash on social media after the match.

Djurdevic later apologised to the Thai team and the Serbia Volleyball Federation (@ossrb) tweeted: "Was it uncalled for? Yes. Was it a racist gesture? Yes. What we argue is that there was no intention or malice. This young girl didn't grasp the weight of the gesture. It is unacceptable, we agree. But our girls are no racist by any means. We sincerely apologize to all affected."

It was not the first time the Serbian team were involved in such controversy. In 2017, the team, in a group photo, celebrated by making the same gesture after securing a spot at the 2018 world championship in Japan.