Bayer Leverkusen striker Victor Boniface has indicated that celebrating like Mohammed Kudus after scoring against West Ham United in the UEFA Europa League was unplanned.

Explaining why he opted for Kudus' trending celebration, he said it was triggered by the Ghana-Nigeria banter.

"To be honest, I have seen so many comments about it...It was something that just came up; it wasn't planned," he told Oma Sports TV.

Ghana and Nigeria share a friendly rivalry extending beyond sports to various parts of life; hence, Boniface labelled the celebration 'normal'.

"We (Nigerians and Ghanaians) are brothers, but we cook each other. It's a normal thing," he said.

Victor Boniface scored a stoppage-time goal to seal a 2-0 win for Leverkusen in the first-leg encounter of their Europa League quarter-final tie.

Immediately the ball hit the net, he ran to the advertising board and sat on it as his teammates joined in while Mohammed Kudus watched from the bench as he was subbed off.

The 'take a seat' celebration has become Kudus' trademark and has gone viral as many players have replicated it.

Kudus will look to get revenge on Boniface in the second leg of the tie, which is set for Thursday, April 18, 2024, at the London stadium.

EE/SEA