An Ivorian football fan, Anselme Santos, who was caught on camera in the stands trying to woo a young lady, has reportedly issued an apology to his wife and children.
The amorous moment happened in the heat of celebration of Ivory Coast’s Round of 16 victory over defending champions 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.
“In the euphoria, I told him ‘give your number’. It wasn’t mean, but she didn’t want to. So I didn’t insist. I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to the lady, my wife, and my children,” he said via Actu Foot.
The host nation, Ivory Coast, had faced a perilous 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, leveling the score four minutes before regular time thanks to Franck Kessie’s successful penalty.