'R.I.P ATSU'
Emotional Ajax star Mohammed Kudus dedicates wondergoal to Christian Atsu and thanks referee for letting him break rules
AJAX star Mohammed Kudus paid an emotional tribute to ex-Chelsea and Newcastle star, Christian Atsu, who was found dead 12 days after a devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Turkey and Syria.
The 31-year-old's body was tragically discovered buried in the rubble on Saturday.
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Tributes poured in from across the football world, with former clubs Chelsea and Newcastle honouring the player.
Atsu's family were at St James' Park for Saturday's game against Liverpool, where a minute's silence was held.
Ghana star Kudus, 22, was next to pay tribute to the footie ace, who most recently had been playing in Turkey for Hatayspor.
Kudus scored a free-kick in the 4-0 win over Sparta Rotterdam on Sunday.
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And the attacker took off his shirt and displayed "RIP Atsu".
Due to rules, a player who takes his shirt off is usually booked.
However, referee Pol van Boekel decided against booking Kudus, which the Ajax ace says he's grateful for.
Kudus said: "We have football rules but this is beyond football, this is about life and death.
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"The referee told me it's not allowed (shirt removal) but he understands because this is a bigger situation than football.
"A big respect from me to the referee."
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