AFCON: Ivorian fan apology to family after ‘young lady’ scandal
An Ivorian football fan, who was caught on camera in the stands trying to woo a young lady, has reportedly issued an apology to his wife and children.
During an AFCON match, the Ivorian man who has since been identified as Anselme Santos, was seen in the viral video asking a Senegalese woman for her phone number.
The amorous moment happened in the heat of celebration of Ivory Coast’s Round of 16 win over defending champions Cameroon in Stade Charles Konan Banny de Yamoussoukro on Monday.
The determined effort of Santos to engage in conversation with his seatmate instead was captured on camera, swiftly transforming into instant meme material.
According to Actu Foot, Santos expressed remorse for any distress his actions could have caused to his wife and children.
“I asked her for her number; it was euphoric; we were talking before and during the match. I apologise to the lady in the video. In the euphoria, I told her, ‘Give me your number’. It wasn’t mean, but she didn’t want to. So I didn’t insist. I want to take this opportunity to apologise to the lady, my wife, and my children,” he said on Wednesday before a live audience on a popular Ivorian programme, Sly de Sly Show.
The host nation, Ivory Coast, had faced a risky situation in the competition with a possibility of elimination from the tournament but only qualified into the knock stage as one of the third-best teams from the group stage.
Aftermath, the Ivorian FA dismissed manager, Jean-Louis Gasset, even before the knockout stage teams had been finalised.
Guided by interim coach Emerse Fae, the Elephants found themselves trailing Senegal from the fourth minute following Habib Diallo’s opening goal. However, they fought their way back into the match, levelling the score four minutes before regular time thanks to Franck Kessie’s successful penalty.