The FA will not charge Man United star Alejandro Garnacho for the controversial tweet he put out following Andre Onana’s dramatic penalty save against Copenhagen in the Champions League last month.
The Argentinian posted a picture of Onana and his teammates celebrating after the United goalkeeper’s last-gasp penalty save, which helped his team preserve a huge 1-0 win over Copenhagen at Old Trafford. However, it was accompanied by two gorilla emojis, which campaign groups have said was deeply offensive.
The youngster took the post down after being made aware of what it could mean. Onana himself came out in support of the social post, saying that he understood that it meant power and strength, and asked for the issue to go no further.
The FA have decided not to punish Garnacho and he is free to play against Luton Town on Saturday.
An FA spokesperson said about the Garnacho case via the Mirror: “We have concluded an investigation in relation to a recent post on Alejandro Garnacho’s social media. We sought the player’s observations as part of our investigation, and he explained that the use of two gorilla emojis was intended to highlight the strength and power of his teammates – specifically Andre Onana and Harry Maguire – following the pivotal roles that they played in Manchester United’s win over FC Copenhagen.
“We are satisfied with Alejandro Garnacho’s explanation and the context that it provides, so we will not be issuing disciplinary proceedings on this occasion. However, we have reminded the player of his responsibilities around social media posts and the use of emojis in particular which can be interpreted in different ways.
“We also intend to liaise with Kick It Out and the PFA to discuss other potential issues around the use of emojis and similar forms of messaging, and education that can be provided about them.”