Ajax’s Mohamed Kudus dedicated his most recent Ajax goal to Christian Atsu and thanked the referee for not booking him after he took his shirt off to reveal a message.
The Ghanaian winger paid tribute to his fellow countryman who passed away following the tragic events of the earthquake that hit Turkey last week.
Kudus scored a goal against Sparta Rotterdam in his side’s 4-0 victory over their rivals at the weekend, and celebrated by lifting his shirt to reveal a message that read ‘R.I.P. Atsu’.
Christian Atsu’s last ever goal was a free kick. Mohammed Kudus dedicated his goal today to Atsu after scoring a free kick.
A befitting tribute 🙏🏽🇬🇭pic.twitter.com/7NqsxEIPRv
— #3Sports (@3SportsGh) February 19, 2023
However, referee Pol van Boekel showed his empathetic side by not booking the winger for removing his shirt, which Kudus showed his gratitude for after the match.
“We have football rules but this is beyond football, this is about life and death.
“The referee told me shirt removal not allowed but he understands because this is a bigger situation than football. Big respect from me to the referee.”
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Newcastle United were one of a host of teams to pay tribute to Atsu, with the 31-year old playing over 100 times for the Magpies, as the club held a minute’s silence prior to their game against Liverpool on Saturday evening.