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.
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