Andre Onana posts message in support of Manchester United teammate Alejandro Garnacho following the latter's deleted tweet fiasco
Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana has defended Alejandro Garnacho after his social media post in which he used gorilla emojis to hail the Cameroonian goalkeeper.
Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano reports that the FA are investigating the social media post. The Argentine attacker uploaded a now-deleted post to his X (formerly Twitter) account celebrating Onana following his heroics in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday (October 24).
Onana saved a last-gasp penalty to ensure Manchester United beat FC Copenhagen 1-0. Garnacho posted a picture of the Red Devils shot-stopper along with two gorilla emojis.
The 19-year-old received backlash for the post due to its potential racial connotations. His teammate has made clear that he took no offense to the post, writing on Instagram:
"People can’t choose what I should be offended by. Garnacho meant power and strength. This should go no further."
However, the Red Devils winger could receive a suspension from the FA for his post. It draws comparisons to that of former Manchester United striker Edinson Cavani's three-game ban back in 2020.
Cavani was punished for comments on social media that the FA ruled as 'insulting, abusive, improper and brought the game into disrepute'. The Uruguayan's comment was a Spanish term that could be interpreted as racist in the UK.
Manchester United star Alejandro Garnacho was slammed for his role in Andre Onana's save
Alejandro Garnacho was seen scuffing the penalty spot before Andre Onana produced a fine save to deny Copenhagen's Swedish striker Jordan Larsson on Tuesday.
The Red Devils goalkeeper's 90+7th minute save meant Manchester United won their first Champions League game of the season. However, his Uruguayan teammate was branded 'childish' by former Arsenal star Kim Kallstrom for his antics. He said (via The Mirror):
"What an ugly type... That's so childish. It's such a baby-level thing."
Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag insisted he hadn't seen the teenage wonderkid tampering with the turf. He said (via UtdPlug):
"I didn't see it. The referee probably didn't see it either. I don't know."
Harry Maguire's bullet header in the 72nd minute meant Ten Hag's side secured all three points. It wasn't a convincing performance from United but they managed to prevail at Old Trafford.
Onana was the hero of the piece and put recent criticism of his start to life at Old Trafford to one side with a memorable penalty save. The Red Devils are now third in their UEFA Champions League group with three points from three games, trailing Galatasaray (4) and Bayern Munich (9).