An official decision has now been reached after a Manchester United star made a social media post that included a picture of Andre Onana and some gorilla emojis.
A spokesperson from England's Football Association has revealed that winger Alejandro Garnacho will not be the subject of disciplinary action after his explanation for his use of emojis in the post were deemed to be satisfactory.
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The 19-year-old had posted a photo of himself and his United teammates celebrating after Onana's late penalty save in their UEFA Champions League victory over Copenhagen last month.
However, the Argentine's caption of two gorilla emojis landed him in hot water with fans and the FA, who decided to investigate the incident because of the potential racial offence the post may have carried.
The winger later deleted the post when he realised the stir it caused, while Onana also jumped to his defence.
"People cannot choose what I should be offended by. I know exactly what Garnacho meant: power and strength. This matter should go no further," the Cameroonian wrote on social media.
Despite his teammate's public protests, an investigation was still carried out and a conclusion has now been reached.
"We have concluded an investigation in relation to a recent post on Alejandro Garnacho's social media," an FA spokesperson said, per the Daily Mirror.
"We sought the player's observations as part of our investigation, and he explained that the use of two gorilla emojis was intended to highlight the strength and power of his teammates – specifically Andre Onana and Harry Maguire – following the pivotal roles that they played in Manchester United's win over FC Copenhagen.
"We are satisfied with Alejandro Garnacho's explanation and the context that it provides, so we will not be issuing disciplinary proceedings on this occasion.
"However, we have reminded the player of his responsibilities around social media posts and the use of emojis in particular, which can be interpreted in different ways.
"We also intend to liaise with Kick It Out and the PFA to discuss other potential issues around the use of emojis and similar forms of messaging, and education that can be provided about them."
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