Manchester United’s Harry Maguire accepts Ghana MP’s apology for mockery

Story by Reuters

Updated: 6:25 AM EST, Thu November 23, 2023

Source: Reuters

Manchester United footballer Harry Maguire on Wednesday accepted the apology of a Ghanaian MP who mocked him during a parliamentary debate on the budget last year.

Opposition lawmaker Isaac Adongo compared Vice-President Mahamadu Bawumia’s economic management of the embattled West African nation to Maguire’s performance on the pitch.

In an address shared widely on social media last year, Adongo compared Bawumia to Maguire, who he described as “the biggest threat at the center of the Manchester United defense.”

The reference was part of a wider speech accusing Bawumia of mismanaging the economy and inflicting hardship on citizens.

Ghana is grappling with its worst economic crisis in a generation brought on by spiraling public debt, which has triggered rampant inflation and weakened the local currency.

In a similar debate on the 2024 budget on Tuesday, Adongo said Maguire had “turned the corner” and took back his analogy.

“I now apologize to Harry Maguire,” Adongo said. “He is a transformational footballer… now scoring goals for Manchester United.”

Maguire accepted the apology in a post on X on Wednesday. “See you at Old Trafford soon,” he wrote, referring to the home of Manchester United.

But he [Adongo] did not relent his criticism of Bawumia, accusing him of “roaming” around the International Monetary Fund (IMF) “with a cup in hand.”

Ghana’s government turned to the IMF for help last year. The Fund approved a three-year, $3 billion program in May, with an immediate disbursement of $600 million.

Bawumia heads the government’s economic management team as has been selected as the ruling party candidate for 2024 elections.

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