)
The Ivorian said he played for his mother after the incident happened.
Former Tottenham Hotspur defender Serge Aurier has explained why he played just hours after the murder of his brother.
His brother, Christopher, was shot dead outside a nightclub in France in July 2020, hours after the footballer had played for Spurs against Arsenal. Less than 72 hours later, he featured as Tottenham played and defeated Newcastle United 3-1.
"I played for my mum. She needed to know life doesn't stop," the Ivory Coast international is quoted as saying.
"We lost my brother, who we loved so much. But I wanted to play this game because this is my work, first of all. Afterwards, we have our life as a family.
"This was a bad moment for me, but I am strong. In here (pointing to his temple), I am strong. I just wanted to show my mum, ‘yeah, we lost my brother, but you have another kid in this life'.
"I wanted to show that, yeah, this is a bad moment, but don't worry because I'm here and I am going to work hard again for you and for the family. It wasn't a good moment for me or for my family, but when my mum saw me on the pitch, running and fighting
"Of course, it can’t change anything, but she felt, ‘yeah, OK, I lost my kid but I have another one I can see on TV, he'll run and enjoy it. After this game, I went home, and I felt like she was happy to see me play like that."
The former PSG defender, who returned to the Premier League last September after signing for Nottingham Forest from Villarreal, explained how his family coped with Christopher’s death.
"This is my family's mentality. We try to take the bad things in this life and handle them in the right way. Don't be crying and stay that way for 10 months. We try directly to change the mentality or to change the mood.
"It's impossible for my family to see someone sad all the time. We always try to find good energy rather than bad energy."
Aurier - who recently recovered from a calf injury - will return to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the first time with Forest on Saturday.
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)