Ghana striker Osman Bukari says he did not disrespect Cristiano Ronaldo after replicating Ronaldo’s ‘SIU’ celebration despite his team playing against the Portuguese star at Qatar World Cup.
The 23-year-old Ghanaian forward Osman Bukari copied Cristiano Ronaldo’s “SIU” celebration after scoring a consolation goal in the 89th minute in a 3-2 defeat against Portugal.
Cristiano Ronaldo gave Portugal the lead through a penalty earlier on and celebrated the goal by hitting the “SIU” himself, but later saw the same celebration used against him.
Ghana got an equalizer via Andrew Ayew’s brilliant finish before Joao Felix and Rafael Leao’s goals steered Portugal upfront to 3-1.
Not long after, Osman Bukari ensured injury time was as daring as possible to push Ghana to a tie by making it 3-2 in the 89th minute which saw him copy Ronaldo’s ‘SIU’ celebration despite being a goal behind Portugal.
However, the match ended in Portugal’s favor while Bukari got himself tons of criticism for “disrespecting” the five-time Ballon d’Or holder by mimicking his style.
Meanwhile, Osman Bukari says he never intended to disrespect Cristiano Ronaldo as many people claimed when he copied the Portuguese star’s “SIU” after scoring against Portugal in their World Cup Group H match on Thursday, November 24.
Osman Tweeted: “I have noticed my celebration has generated comments claiming I was disrespectful towards Ronaldo.”
“This is incorrect. I was overcome by the emotion of the moment of scoring for my country on my World Cup debut leading to my celebration.”
The 23-year-old Bukari argues he copied Ronaldo’s style of celebration because he sees the Portuguese legendary striker as one of his idols unlike what others believe and reveals his decency will not even make him disregard anyone.
He added: “My upbringing doesn’t permit me to be disrespectful to elders let alone one of my idols.”
Who is Osman Bukari?
Osman Bukari (born 13 December 1998) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a winger for the Serbian club Red Star Belgrade and the Ghana national team.
Osman Bukari’s Club Career and Stats
Osman Bukari began his European journey when he joined Slovakian side AS Trenčin in July 2018 from his home-based club Accra Lions.
The 23-year-old promising striker was one of the best players in Trenčin playing 66 matches and recording 16 goals and 25 assists.
After spending two seasons there, Belgian side KAA Gent signed Bukari on the 4th of September 2020.
He managed to score four goals and made six stunning assists in 35 appearances for Gent before moving to Nantes as a loan player on 12 August 2021.
Bukari eventually landed at his current club, the Serbian champions Red Star Belgrade after spending ten months with Nantes.
Bukari joined the Red Star Belgrade in a deal worth €3 million on the 21st of June, 2022, and has since been firing goals.
One of his crucial goals went viral in Red Star Belgrade’s UEFA Champions League qualifying match against Pyunik, in which Bukari was named man of the match, scoring three goals and assisting one in a 5–0 victory.
Osman Bukari’s International Career.
Bukari made his Ghana debut on the 25th of March, 2021 against South Africa in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match.
The 23-year-old Red Star Belgrade’s striker scored his first goal for his country on the 1st of June, 2022 in an AFCON qualifier against Madagascar and has since then been a regular for the Ghanaian team.
In his World Cup debut, Bukari netted in the 89th minute in a 3-2 loss to Portugal.
The 23-year-old Ghanaian striker will hopefully shine and garner more attention in the Black Stars’ Qatar World Cup second match against South Korea.
Having lost 3 -2 to Portugal and sitting at the bottom of Group H with zero points, Ghana will hopefully strive to clear their backlogs against North Korea on November 28.
The match will take place at Education City Stadium with kickoff scheduled for 14:00 BST.
