Onana defends Garnacho amid FA probe over social media post

André Onana has defended Manchester United teammate Alejandro Garnacho after the English FA launched an investigation into a social media post made by the Argentinian featuring two gorillas above a picture of the Cameroon goalkeeper.

Garnacho made the post on X, formerly Twitter, after Onana saved a stoppage-time penalty to earn United a 1-0 win over FC Copenhagen in the Champions League on Wednesday.

It was deleted shortly afterward once the 19-year-old had been made aware by the club of possible racial connotations.

The FA is looking into the incident and has asked Garnacho for his observations.

On Thursday, Onana defended Garnacho in his own post on social media.

“People cannot choose what I should be offended by,” Onana wrote on Instagram. “I know exactly what [Garnacho] meant: power and strength. This matter should go no further.”

Garnacho could face a suspension if he is charged by the FA for breaching its rules.

In 2019, Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva was banned for one match and fined £50,000 by the FA after comparing teammate Benjamin Mendy to a Black cartoon character, despite a commission accepting that he didn’t intend it to be racist.

In 2021, United striker Edinson Cavani was given a three-match suspension and fined £100,000 for a social media post which contained a Spanish term that could have been interpreted as racist in the UK.