Player: I respect my former team.. I didn't mean anything

Pedro's celebration raises controversy... and Baniyas: "We are in the age of professionalism"

Pedro celebrates with his teammates in Al Wahda after scoring a goal against his former team Baniyas.

Photography: Najeeb Mohamed

The celebration of Al Wahda striker, Brazilian Joao Pedro, after scoring a goal against his former team Baniyas, sparked widespread controversy on social media, in the match that brought the two teams together, the day before yesterday, at the end of the second round of the ADNOC Professional League, which ended in a positive draw. 1-1.

Pedro celebrated in a remarkable way after he presented his team with the first goal, before Al Wahda defender Faris Juma equalized the result by mistake in his team's goal, at a time when the Baniyas fans believed that Pedro would not celebrate in front of their goal, as usual for the stars out of respect for their teams who had previously worn their shirts.

Joao Pedro commented on his celebration of scoring against the heavenly net: "This is football. I respect the fans of Al Wahda and Baniyas. It is natural to celebrate after any goal. I have not forgotten the good days I lived in this club. They treated me in a civilized and wonderful way."

He added: “Of course I am happy that I managed to score a goal and this was the secret of my happiness. I did not mean anything else, as you know I have been here for a month, and I need to work with all my energies to prove to everyone that I am a successful deal. Because the weather conditions were difficult for us and these are not excuses, the important thing is that we did not lose, and we came out with a point better than nothing.”

For his part, Baniyas team manager Mansour Ali confirmed, "Pedro's celebration may have angered some of the fans, but I do not blame the player for the way he celebrated, we are in the era of professionalism, and Pedro today became a player in a team other than Baniyas, and I see that The player’s celebration was not an exaggeration that some try to portray.”

He added: “If we ask Pedro how he feels now after the way he celebrated the goal, he may have a different feeling than the goal appeared, in fact the player came to the dressing room before the match to greet the players and the technical staff, everyone inside the club has a strong relationship with this player and he is He also has an excellent relationship with us.”

Bani Yas coach, the Romanian Daniel Isila, stressed his great respect for the Brazilian player Pedro, saying: "Perhaps if Pedro continued with us, we would have won the match.

He added: “We conceded a goal from the only chance that the opponent had, and despite that, we did not give up and tried to amend the result until we were able to do so late. It was last season.”

Joao Pedro: "I am happy that I managed to score, and that was the secret of my happiness, I didn't mean anything else."

Mansour Ali: "Pedro today is a player in another team, and I think that his celebration was not that exaggerated."

Daniel Isela: “If Pedro had stayed with us, we would have won the match. We had seven chances.”

Tin Cat: Al Wahda played the worst match since my return

Al-Wahda coach, Dutch Tin Kat, described his team’s performance against Al-Samawi as the worst since his return to coach the team again, and said in press statements: “I am certainly not happy with that, we did not play fiercely enough, and Bani Yas managed to impose his rhythm in the first half and we were unable to control the team.” Midfield area.

He added, "In the second half we were somewhat better, however, we were not in a good level to win, and in the end I think that the result of 1/1 is fair for both teams."

He continued: "Bani Yas, despite all that, was unable to create any chances to score in the second half. We made a big mistake by scoring an own goal in our goal, but we have to continue the journey, we all have to continue to develop."

Regarding the reservations of some Al Wahda fans about the line-up in which he played the match, Tin Kat said: “I understand that some fans want other players to play, but this is football, which is about choosing the starting line-up to play the match. Of course, I choose whom I see best to start the match.

If someone thinks he is better than me, let him come and take my place.”

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