Elders Identify Burial Site for Serge Aurier’s Father

Gorogui clan elders have identified the exact burial site for Gebizie Leone, the father of Tottenham Hotspurs’ right back Serge Aurier.

The Ivory Coast international had declared that his father would be buried in Abidjan, against his clan wishes, once the organizing committee declares the burial date.

The elders said that Leone will be interred close to his grandfather grave at his rural Gorogui village home located in Gessabo region of western Ivory Coast after performing some rituals.

“Serge Aurier must know that he is not above our traditions. We have declared that his father will be buried next to his grandfather grave in Gorogui village where he comes from,” said a member of the clan in an interview with abidjanshow.com.

“Aurier has  refused to know his origins as well as the tradition and has never set foot in the village.”

Aurier’s father died on Sunday, April 7 and he is viewed as an iconic figure in the West African country as he once served as an administrative assistant in a local District Court.

However, Leone had a sour relationship with his son as he once claimed to have been neglected by his son for years.

The former native footballer in the West African nation also stated that Aurier never wanted to have any physical contact with him and even refused to pay his medical expenses to cure a disease that had paralyzed him.

Aurier, 26, was born and raised, in the western region of Ivory Coast, in a small town called Danane.

He joined Hotspurs in August 2017 from Paris St-Germain in a deal that was held up by work permit complications as a result of the defender receiving a suspended sentence for assaulting a police officer a year before.

In March 2016, he was suspended indefinitely after appearing to use homophobic language to insult coach Laurent Blanc and calling team-mate Angel di Maria a “clown” on social media app Periscope.

Aurier has represented the Ivory Coast at the 2014 World Cup and started every game when they won the Africa Cup of Nations in 2015, scoring in the penalty shootout win over Ghana in the final.