An Ivory Coast fan has apologized to his wife and children after he was seen in a viral video asking another woman for her number during the Africa Cup of Nations.
Anselme Santos attended his host nation’s crucial last 16 clash with reigning champions Senegal at the Charles Konan Banny Stadium on Monday.
The two African giants drew 1-1 after Aborian starlet Franck Kessie canceled out Habib Diallo’s opener.
But it was Emerse Fae’s side that punched their ticket to the quarter-finals where they will face Mali after seeing off Sadio Mane and another on penalties.
Kessie scored the winning penalty but it was Santos who became the talk of the town after the dramatic encounter with Afcon.
The fan was seen talking closely to a woman in the stands as other Ivory Coast fans celebrated around them.
The lady seemed clearly unfazed by the approach, but insists it was just friendly banter during the “euphoria” of Ivory Coast’s triumph.
Santos later revealed that he is “sad” and “really upset” with himself after seeing the viral video and went on to apologize to the woman as well as her entire family.
The father also asked for forgiveness from his family who watched him in the stands.
Santos told Life TV: “Since we were in the hotel we were with the Senegalese fans, we had fun, we danced, we ate, we took the bus to the stadium, everyone was having fun.
“We got to the pitch, we had the first goal, the Senegalese fans were trying to tease us, but that’s the game.
“On the field where we have fun, everyone is happy. If you went to the stadium to be sad, it’s not good, if the Senegalese fans were sitting on one side and us on the other, there would be no atmosphere.
“Well, that’s how you saw it in the video, I was sitting higher up [away from the woman] and I was getting off when I saw her waving the Senegalese flag.
“In the euphoria, we’re having fun, joking around, I said to her, ‘give me your number.’
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“I didn’t insist and when she didn’t want to, I went back to my friend there near the stands. I never saw her again.
“I don’t think it was insistence, it was just fun on the pitch, we were teasing, I didn’t go on the pitch to get a wife.
“When I say ‘give me your number, give me your number’, it’s not necessarily because I wanted their number, we were having fun, it’s all good.
“When I got back to the hotel, I saw the video on all social networks. When I saw it, honestly, it made me sad.
“I am a father, I have a family, I would like to take this opportunity to apologize [to] my family, my children, my wife.
“And then I take this opportunity to apologize to this lady, her family, her community, her husband, her children, we were having fun and it happened, but, frankly, I’m really upset about what happened.”