Alejandro Garnacho is at risk of a Football Association ban over a social media post regarding Manchester United team-mate Andre Onana.
Garnacho, 19, posted a celebratory post on Twitter following Manchester United’s 1-0 Champions League win over FC Copenhagen on Tuesday night where Onana saved a stoppage time penalty to ensure victory.
The Argentina international included two gorilla emojis in the since deleted post alongside a picture of Onana, team-mates and himself celebrating.
The FA are aware of the post in question and have sought Garnacho’s observations on it.
Manchester United have been approached for comment.
There are precedents for the FA punishing players for similar social media posts. In 2020, United’s Edinson Cavani was given a three-game ban and fined £100,000 ($128,000) after using the word “n**o” in a comment on Instagram, in which he was thanking a young fan. The phrase loosely translates to “thanks little black boy” or it can also mean “guy with black hair”.
Cavani deleted the comment and apologised. The Uruguayan was still punished by an independent commission after admitting an FA charge of misconduct for an aggravated breach of the rules relating to racism.
That commission stated that Cavani “had demonstrated genuine remorse” and “could not reasonably have known that any such offence would be caused”, having only been at United for two months and never having lived in an English-speaking country. It also noted that Cavani had “received no media training upon his arrival in England to enable him to be better placed to understand the cultural differences”.
A year before, Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva was fined £50,000 and banned for one match for comparing a photo of team-mate Benjamin Mendy as a child with the mascot for Spanish chocolate brand Conguitos.
Bernardo deleted the post after 45 minutes and accepted an FA charge of misconduct for an aggravated breach of the rules relating to racism.
The independent commission which decided Bernardo’s punishment accepted that he did not “intend the post to be insulting or in any way racist” and settled on only a one-game ban because of his “exemplary character and disciplinary record”. The then-25-year-old was ordered to attend a mandatory face-to-face education programme.
United are next in action on Sunday when they welcome Manchester City to Old Trafford.
(Photo: Matt McNulty/Getty Images)
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