Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has reacted to the news that the man who threw a banana at him during Arsenal’ 4-2 win over Tottenham has been fined £500 and banned for just four years from football. Aubameyang put on his Instagram feed ‘4 years and we start again’ alongside a thumbs up and a sad emoji.
Averof Panteli admitted throwing the banana skin as Aubameyang celebrated in front of him but denied it was racially motivated despite it being used as a symbol of racism for decades. The 57-year-old was fined £500 in total and must pay £135 in costs it was told at the Highbury Corner magistrates court.
Mervyn Mandell, the magistrate said: “We find that it was a targeted gesture to throw a banana after a goal was scored by a black player.”
She also confirmed that: “The racial element was there.” after giving him a four-year ban from football. Of course, Tottenham Hotspur may as a football club decide to ban him for a longer period of time but this is the minimum period he must serve until a decision is made by the club.
Panteli, who lives in Norwich, said after being arrested: “It was not a racial thing. It just happened. Sometimes you do things in life and say: ‘Why did I do that for?’”
Pantelli is from a Greek-Cypriot family and claimed he threw it at a group of players rather than Aubameyang himself. It’s clear to see from the picture below that the player did not agree with the Spurs fan.