Felix Afena-Gyan is the man of the hour for Roma after the dazzling brace against Genoa. José Mourinho kept his word and quickly gifted him the shoes he was looking for. However, a racist remark ruined the party and its aftermath.
While the youngster is unwrapping the present, somebody out of the picture utters: “There are bananas inside.” The culprit might be Vito Scala, who was Francesco Totti’s personal trainer and now assists every player.
The video has been deleted, but the damage was already done. Afena-Gyan downplayed the incident to Il Messaggero: “It was a joke that did not offend me, and its intent was not racist. Actually, I do eat bananas a lot. Roma welcomed me like a family since day one. I think people got the wrong idea of what really happened.”
Roma have been at the forefront of the fight against any form of discrimination in recent years. Their players often wear Black Lives Matter t-shirts before matches. Half of the game-day income from the upcoming tilt with Zorya Luhansk will be donated on the occasion of the international day for the elimination of violence against women.
Afena-Gyan’s agent Arthur revealed that Milan, Atalanta and Sassuolo were after the starlet while he was at the EurAfrica Academy. However, Roma acted more swiftly. Moreover, the youngster had been a fan of the Giallorossi since they mounted a three-goal comeback against Barcelona. They signed him for €350k, filling a rare extra-EU spot after a strong recommendation by Morgan De Sanctis, Corriere dello Sport reports.