Alejandro Garnacho.
Andre Onana, the goalkeeper for Manchester United, has come to the defense of his teammate Alejandro Garnacho in light of a social media post featuring two gorilla emojis.
The FA is currently conducting an investigation into Alejandro Garnacho’s use of gorilla emojis in a social media post related to his Manchester United colleague, Andre Onana.
A picture depicting United players celebrating with the Cameroonian goalkeeper after his crucial late penalty save in Tuesday night’s victory over FC Copenhagen was briefly posted on Garnacho’s X account with the two emojis, only to be removed 15 minutes later.
Garnacho’s X account with the two emojis was removed 15 minutes later.
The FA has reached out to Manchester United to seek input from the 19-year-old Argentine winger, asking for his observations before determining whether it constitutes an aggravating factor under their Rule E3(1).
On Thursday night, Onana took to social media to support his teammate, stating, “People cannot choose what I should be offended by. I know exactly what @agarnacho7 meant: power and strength. This matter should not be pursued any further.”
Onana’s Post
Nonetheless, the FA retains the option to initiate proceedings, as evidenced by their past actions. In 2019, they imposed a one-game ban and a £50,000 fine on Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva for sharing an image featuring a black cartoon character that they believed referenced his teammate Benjamin Mendy’s race.
In the subsequent year, Manchester United striker Edinson Cavani received a three-game suspension and a £100,000 fine for using the term ‘negrito,’ which translates to ‘thanks little black,’ in reference to a friend on an Instagram post.
In Uruguay, his home country, this term is regarded as an affectionate expression and carries no offensive connotations.
Nonetheless, Cavani promptly removed the comment and admitted his guilt in response to the FA’s charges.
Alongside the fines and sporting sanctions, the FA also mandated that Cavani participate in a two-hour, in-person training course.