Journalist claims Andre Onana was wrong to come out in support of Manchester United teammate Alejandro Garnacho over social media post
Daily Mirror journalist Darren Lewis has criticized Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana for supporting Alejandro Garnacho amid the FA's investigation into the Argentine teenager's social media post.
Garnacho is being investigated by the FA following a post a now-deleted X (formerly Twitter) post he uploaded. The Red Devils winger celebrated Onana's last-gasp penalty save in the UEFA Champions League with a picture of the Cameroonian while captioning it with two gorilla emojis.
The Manchester United goalkeeper came out in support of Garnacho after he received backlash for the post. He stated on Instagram:
"People can’t choose what I should be offended by. Garnacho meant power and strength. This should go no further."
However, Lewis argues that Onana's defense of Garnacho was wrong and explains why such trophes and images directed at black people are offensive with or without intention. He wrote on X:
"Andre Onana is wrong. And we mustn’t be afraid to say so, regardless of the reaction. Never mind sport, Simian tropes/images directed at any black person - whatever the intention - have a long history of being offensive."
Lewis stressed the need for Garnacho to learn from the ordeal and alluded to recent reports of gorilla/monkey emojis being sent to players:
"Nobody wants to hammer Garnacho, a young player who will learn from this. But while no-one else can decide what Onana is offended by, football and society already knows what *it* is offended by. Just ask the clubs up and down the country that have reported gorilla/monkey emojis sent to their players."
Alejandro Garnacho's post came after Onana saved Swedish striker Jordan Larsson's 90+7th-minute penalty. Manchester United beat FC Copenhagen 1-0 to secure their first Champions League win of the campaign.
However, the win has been marred by the outrage surrounding Garnacho's post-match tweet. Many are expecting the FA to hand out a ban and charge similar to the one Edinson Cavani received for a similar post in 2020. The Uruguayan striker received a three-game ban on that occasion.
Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag comments on the FA's investigation into Alejandro Garnacho's post
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has confirmed that the club are taking to the FA regarding Alejandro Garnacho's social media post. The Dutch coach alluded to Onana's post when addressing the situation (via Manchester Evening News):
"We are talking with the FA, what you see, I can confirm that and I want to emphasize we are together, we are united, you saw that with the post of Andre."
Alejandro Garnacho is set to be available for Manchester United when they face Manchester City in the Manchester derby on Sunday (October 29). If the Argentine winger does get hit with a ban it will be a massive blow for Ten Hag. The Dutchman is already without Jadon Sancho who has been banished from the first-team after falling out with the United boss.