The heart-warming moment on Sunday when AS Roma manager Jose Mourinho gifted Felix Afena-Gyan a new pair of trainers after his two goals as a substitute at Genoa in Serie A was overshadowed by what some assumed was a racist remark made by somebody in the room.
In a video posted online by the Ghanaian forward on Monday, an unidentified man off-camera can be heard saying in Italian “there are bananas inside” as the 18-year-old unpacked the box given to him by Mourinho.
Neither Mourinho nor Afena-Gyan, who were speaking in English, reacted to the remark which was made while the striker was unpacking his gift.
Photo: EPA-EFE
AS Roma were not immediately available to comment, but Afena-Gyan posted a message on Monday playing down the incident, saying it was a joke about him eating lots of bananas.
“I have been reading a lot of comments about the video I published earlier today of a special moment for me with the coach,” he said on Instagram. “I want to assure you all that I was not offended by the background comment made in the video in any way — and that I truly believe there was no racist intent.”
“Since the first day I arrived at the club, I have been welcomed into the family by everyone, who have joked with me like they do all members of the family,” Afena-Gyan said.
“Because they see that I eat bananas a lot, that has become a thing we laugh about sometimes — and I believe the comment was another example of that,” he said.
The video, which was widely shared online, came after Afena-Gyan came off the bench to score two superb goals in Roma’s 2-0 Serie A win over Genoa on Sunday.
After the match, Mourinho said that he had “promised to buy him [Afena-Gyan] a pair of shoes he likes that cost 800 euros [US$901]” and the Portuguese coach kept his word.
The teenager, who arrived in Rome from his native Ghana to join the club’s Under-19 team in January, only made his senior debut last month and has yet to start a first-team match.
He was brought on for the final 15 minutes against Genoa and made a huge impact, sliding in the opener before firing home a superb long-range strike in stoppage time to send Mourinho’s side up to fifth place in the standings.
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
RSS