“Lost like men”
Why ex-BVB star Aubameyang showed the African football association the finger
After a sleepless night at the Gambia airport, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang sent an angry tweet to Africa’s football association CAF.
© Kirsty Wigglesworth / Picture Alliance
A sleepless night at the airport in Gambia brought ex-BVB striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang so upset that he gave the African football association the finger on Twitter. The officials reacted late and thinly.
His fans and almost two million followers on Twitter know that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang likes to put on thick pants. The former Borussia Dortmund striker and current Arsenal professional regularly posts glossy photos of his stately private vehicle fleet. And in general, the Gabonese are considered to be someone who likes to stand out, likes to be the center of attention. Sometimes he gets wrong in the tone. So also in mid-November around an important qualifying game for the next Africa Cup in Gambia. Now the association of his home country, but also Gambia, have to bleed for it.
What happened?
On the day of the game at Bakau’s Independence Stadium, Aubameyang tweeted a photo collage showing him with five team-mates in Gabon’s national jersey. The 31-year-old wrote about it, translated, “We have lost like men and with pride. Thank you, Panther”. Below, he linked the Twitter account of Africa’s football association CAF and added a finger emoji. The trigger for the emotional outburst was apparently the catastrophic arrival of his team. Accordingly, the Gambia refused entry to the officials and players from Gabon when they arrived at Banjul airport shortly after midnight. Official reason: The results of the corona tests did not reach the authorities in time. So Aubameyang and his team spent the night in the airport hall. Some players tried to sleep on the floor. The delegation from Gabon did not sit in the team bus until around six in the morning. “Thanks for the extra motivation. Gambia,” tweeted Aubameyang from the bus. The team is “ready like never before”.
Africa’s association punishes Gabon and Gambia
The game, which kicked off a few hours later, ended in a 2-1 win for hosts Gambia. After a double from Italian legionnaire Musa Barrow, the tired Gabonese only scored a goal shortly before the end. And still from the cabin, Gabun’s captain Aubameyang let the world know who was to blame for this defeat. It took Africa’s football association more than three weeks to respond to the “offensive and degrading material” that one of the continent’s best footballers was distributing via Twitter. The tweets have “undermined the honor and image of the Confederation of African Football,” the officials judged on Wednesday. They grunted the Gabonese Association a rather mild fine of US $ 10,000. Gambia is said to pay $ 100,000 – apparently a reminder for the unhospitable and unworthy behavior of the Gambians at the airport.
Aubameyang’s tweets have been “liked” almost 24,000 times. In the several hundred comments, the Arsenal star also has to put up with criticism and malice. Among other things, he is labeled as a “bad loser” who should take his pride back home with him. Others blame Gabon for the incident at the airport and accuse the association of not respecting the applicable corona rules. In the next few weeks, players and associations will have time to get their emotions under control. Because Aubameyang’s Gabon will not meet the Democratic Republic of the Congo until March 22, 2021.
Those: Twitter
