Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana says no action should be taken against Alejandro Garnacho for using gorilla emojis in a social media post.
United forward Garnacho, 19, put the emojis with a photo of him and Onana celebrating the Cameroonian saving an injury-time penalty against Copenhagen.
“People cannot choose what I should be offended by. I know exactly what [Garnacho] meant: power and strength,” Onana wrote on Instagram.
“This matter should go no further.”
Argentina international Garnacho published the post after Onana’s save from the spot secured a vital 1-0 win on Tuesday which breathed new life into United’s Champions League campaign.
The Football Association (FA) is aware of the social media post and has asked for Garnacho’s observations.
In 2019, Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva was banned for one match and fined £50,000 after an FA commission accepted he “did not intend” a tweet about team-mate Benjamin Mendy to be “racist”.
Silva compared Mendy to the character on a packet of Conguitos – a chocolate brand available in Spain and Portugal.
In 2021, United striker Edinson Cavani was given a three-match ban and a £100,000 fine for a social media post containing a Spanish phrase that is offensive in some contexts.