Chelsea wonderkid in angry touchline bust-up with manager

Carlo Garganese

25 Oct 2023 02:50 CDT
3 min read

David Datro Fofana, Union Berlin, 2023-24 — © ProShots

Chelsea-owned striker David Datro Fofana caused a furore during Union Berlin’s Champions League defeat to Napoli by refusing to shake his manager’s hand when being substituted.

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The incident occurred in the 70th minute when Fofana - on loan at Berlin from Chelsea - was substituted for Kevin Behrens.

As Fofana walked past the touchline towards the bench he refused to acknowledge manager Urs Fischer’s handshake, which did not impress the coach at all.

On dirait que Datro Fofana va pas faire long feu à l'Union Berlin. On va le renvoyer dès janvier s'il continue à aller au clash avec son coach. pic.twitter.com/JfilhJXhUD
— Gervinho CFC 🇨🇩🇺🇸 (@gervinho243) October 24, 2023

Berlin were trailing 1-0 at the time to Napoli, and that is how the game finished as the Italian champions won the game thanks to Giacomo Raspadori’s 65th minute winner.

Fofana has now apologised for his actions.

What did Fofana say?

“Following my behavior during my exist from the field, I wanted to apologize to the club, the coach, my teammates and the supporters,” Fofana said in a statement.

“This gesture was not intended and in no way does it represent my attitude, all this was generated as a result of frustration because I wanted to continue helping the team to obtain a positive result.

“We will continue to work and come back even stronger in the championship and in this great competition.”

Fofana moved to Union Berlin on loan this past summer, hoping to develop as a player in the German Bundesliga.

However, he has endured a poor start and has failed to score in his 11 appearances.

Fofana joined Chelsea from Molde in January for €12.5 million.

The 20-year-old made three appearances without scoring for the Blues in the second half of last season before he was loaned out this summer.

Berlin themselves are in their worst run of form for 19 years, and have now lost nine games in a row in all competitions.

They are bottom of their Champions League group with no points from three games.

Real Madrid are top with maximum points, followed by Napoli in second with six points and Braga in third with three points.