The life and times of Serge Aurier are anything but straightforward. Last month, the Ivory Coast and Paris Saint-Germain defender was fined and sentenced to two months in prison for assaulting a police officer.
Aurier’s standing at PSG was already in jeopardy following a Facebook video in which he called a Dutch official a “dirty son of a b****” and a disturbing live Periscope session during which he launched homophobic slurs at then manager Laurent Blanc and insulted Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Angel Di Maria and Salvatore Sirigu.
The extremely unpredictable behavior of Aurier was once again on full display during the Ivory Coast’s World Cup qualifying win over Mali on Saturday. Initially, Aurier was the subject of controversy for his graphic throat-slitting celebration.
Le but de la Côte d'Ivoire sur un csc du Malien Salif Coulibaly (centre de @Serge_aurier) #PSG pic.twitter.com/X0Odts0RTr
— Paris No Limit™ (@ParisNoLimit) October 8, 2016
Now, it’s emerged that Aurier more than likely saved the life of Mali midfielder Moussa Doumbia earlier in the match.
Doumbia was knocked unconscious in the 20th minute and was reportedly on the verge of swallowing his own tongue while suffering an epileptic fit. Thankfully, Aurier reacted quickly and pulled it out, saving his life.
Serge Aurier helping Moussa Doumbia. Photo: @Actu_PSG | Twitter
“All the players realized that Doumbia was choking and was about to swallow his tongue,” said Mali manager Alain Giresse. “That’s when Aurier, with one of our players, quickly put him on his side and pulled out his tongue, because he was about to lose his life.”
Just when you're about to write a lengthy indictment against the perversions of footballers in our century, they go and totally redeem themselves.
I think this about covers the breadth of humanity.
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