Alejandro Garnacho could find himself in trouble due to a controversial post on social media.
Manchester United’s young talent, Alejandro Garnacho, may face disciplinary action from the Football Association (FA) following a controversial social media post involving teammate Andre Onana.
The 19-year-old winger posted a photo on X (formerly Twitter) showing Manchester United players celebrating Onana’s decisive penalty save in the team’s recent 1-0 victory over FC Copenhagen. What raised concerns was Garnacho’s inclusion of two gorilla emojis in the post, without any accompanying text.
The post, published shortly after midnight on Wednesday, initially underwent editing to remove the gorilla emojis before being deleted entirely, although it remained visible for approximately 15 minutes. The FA has taken notice of Garnacho’s post and is considering potential charges against the player for his behavior on social media.
The FA has previously shown a strict stance on social media posts, invoking FA Rule E3(1) for charges. This rule encompasses “aggravating factors,” which include comments that reference a person’s ethnicity, color, race, nationality, faith, gender, sexual orientation, or disability. While Garnacho removed the post, FA regulations still allow for retrospective punishment.
This incident isn’t the first time Manchester United has dealt with social media-related disciplinary matters. In 2020, former United striker Edinson Cavani was banned for three games and fined £100,000 for using the Spanish phrase ‘Gracias negrito’ (translated as ‘thanks little black’) in a friend’s Instagram post. Although this phrase is a term of endearment in Cavani’s native Uruguay, he deleted the comment and pleaded guilty to the FA charge.
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