Man United winger Amad explains obscene gesture as team's woes continue on another continent

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Manchester United winger Amad says he doesn't regret making what appeared to be an obscene gesture toward some fans in Malaysia because his mother allegedly had been insulted.

Footage shared widely on social media appeared to show the 22-year-old Ivory Coast international raising his middle finger while outside a hotel with his teammates in Kuala Lumpur earlier this week.

“I have respect for people but not for the one who insults my mom,” Amad wrote on X. “I shouldn’t have reacted like that but I don’t regret what I did. We had a great time in Malaysia with good people.”

United did not respond to a request for comment.

The team's postseason Asia tour had already got off to a bad start when United lost its friendly against a Southeast Asian All-Star team 1-0 in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday. Some fans booed in response.

Even Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was disappointed, suggesting United could be relegated after watching the team lose, despite the fact it was probably affected by jet lag.

“Ouch. Man United failed to win another trophy,” Ibrahim, one of 72,500 fans at Bukit Jalil Stadium in the Malaysian capital, wrote on social media in a post translated from Malay.

“Looks like you’re in for another tough season, hope you don’t drop to the Championship,” he added, referring to England’s second tier.

United then traveled to Hong Kong for another friendly.

“We were not really focused in the last game, and everybody can feel it,” United manager Ruben Amorim said Thursday. “We just want to turn the page and improve in the next season.”

On Sunday, United finished 15th in the Premier League, its lowest-ever ranking in the competition, just four days after a loss in the Europa League final to Tottenham Hotspur meant its European season ended without a trophy.

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Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim gestures as he waits for delegates to arrive for the second ASEAN-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit after the 46th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Kuala Lumpur Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Mohd Rasfan/Pool Photo via AP)

Manchester United's team poses for photo before friendly match with ASEAN All-Star team during the Challenge Cup Malaysia 2025 soccer tournament in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Manchester United's Sekou Kone, right, fights for the ball with ASEAN All-Star Philippines's Sandro Reyes during the Challenge Cup Malaysia 2025 soccer tournament in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Manchester United's Rasmus Hojlund, right, fights for the ball with ASEAN All-Star Cambodia's Mo Kan, center, during the Challenge Cup Malaysia 2025 soccer tournament in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Manchester United's Amad Diallo, left, and Aston Villa's Amadou Onana battle for the ball during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Aston Villa at Old Trafford, Manchester, England, Sunday May 25, 2025. (Martin Rickett/PA via AP)

Manchester United's Kobbie Mainoo, left, fights for the ball with AASEAN All-Star Australia's Kealey Adamson during the Challenge Cup Malaysia 2025 soccer tournament in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Manchester United's Kobbie Mainoo, left, fights for the ball with ASEAN All-Star Malaysia's Ezequiel Aguero during the Challenge Cup Malaysia 2025 soccer tournament in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

ASEAN All-Star Philippines's Sandro Reyes, left, fights for the ball with Manchester United's Casemiro, center, and Patrick Dorgu during the Challenge Cup Malaysia 2025 soccer tournament in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Manchester United's Patrick Dorgu, heads a ball during match withfights for the ball with ASEAN All-Star at the Challenge Cup Malaysia 2025 soccer tournament in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Manchester United's Casemiro, right, fights for the ball with ASEAN All-Star Australia's Kealey Adamson during the Challenge Cup Malaysia 2025 soccer match in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)