Manchester United hotshot Amad has been heavily criticised after showing his middle fingers to fans of the Old Trafford outfit during the Malaysia leg of his side’s post-season tour – but an explanation behind the Ivorian’s gesture has now emerged.
Following their 2-0 win over Aston Villa on the final day of the 2024/25 Premier League campaign, Ruben Amorim and his men were straight on a plane to Asia where thousands of jubilant supporters were waiting patiently to watch the stars in action.
Although their season ended positively, their final day victory will not mask what was utterly abhorrent from start to finish – and the aforementioned Amad was a rare shining light. He’s now come under fire for his gesture, but there’s a perfectly legit reason.
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Theory Behind Amad’s Flippant Gesture Emerges
Footage shows the Ivorian was evidently frustrated at fans in Malaysia
Alongside suffering the ignominy of a 1-0 defeat to ASEAN All-Stars – a team consisting of players from Southeast Asian leagues such as Thailand – on Wednesday, Amad’s flippant gesture has drawn unnecessary attention to the Red Devils's post-season tour.
In the clip, as you can see below, the 22-year-old – who is widely regarded as one of the best wingers in the Premier League – can be seen walking past supporters, who were shouting his name alongside others. He then extends his right arm with his middle finger raised.
As revealed on X (formerly Twitter), the reason behind Amad’s frustration is that a collection of supporters were attempting to grab his attention by shouting “Diallo” – a name that he no longer wants to be referred by – in his direction. UtdDistrict's Dylan Penketh wrote:
“I really hope the club make a concentrated effort to inform major media outlets about Amad’s name. He doesn’t want to be referred to as “Diallo” (this was in reaction to constant shouts of “Diallo”) but those such as Sky and TNT still use that name a lot. Gotta change that.”
From the club themselves, the messaging has remained clear. Ever since he put pen to paper on his new deal, Manchester United have been insistent that he only wants to be referred to as ‘Amad’. To help raise awareness, all club records are aligned.
Why the fleet-footed winger opted to remove his surname from his identity stems from a controversy when he completed his move from Africa to Italy. The Italian Football Federation (FIGC), per The Athletic, believed that documents had been forged so that he could enter the country illegally.
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Investigated by authorities in 2020, it was alleged that Amad – and his brother, Hamed Traore, who currently plays for Auxerre in Ligue 1 – were at the front and centre of a child trafficking ring that saw five adults smuggle the brothers into Italy, illegally, on a family visa.
Looking to move away and separate his name from the well-documented controversy, the Manchester United ace – without a doubt, one of the most exciting players in world football – dropped his surname in a similar manner to how Dele Alli chose to be known as ‘Dele’.