Serge Aurier helped save Moussa Doumbia after he suffered an epileptic fit during a World Cup qualifier at the weekend.

Ivory Coast international Aurier rushed to the aid of Mali player Doumbia after 20 minutes when he collapsed and started to swallow his tongue.

"There is one thing nobody is talking about, which is the manner in which he helped a Malian on the pitch," Mali national team coordinator Fousseni Diawara told Goal France.

"Doumbia fell and was swallowing his own tongue and Serge was one of the first to arrive and help.

"On Sunday, Aurier was at our hotel to ask after our guy."

Later in the match, won 3-1 by Ivory Coast, Aurier put in a cross that Mali's Salif Coulibaly turned into his own net and was embroiled in controversy after celebrating with a throat-slitting gesture.

But Diawara said: "On Monday, we flew back to Paris together and we did not talk about it [the throat-slitting gesture].

"Instead, he was praising our team. Ivory Coast-Mali is a hotly contested derby for both sets of supporters because the Malians and Ivorians are a bit like cousins."

The celebration was not the first time that Aurier has been involved in controversy this year.

He was suspended by PSG after insulting former coach Laurent Blanc in Periscope footage, and is awaiting the result of an appeal against a "convertible" two-month prison sentence after being charged with assaulting a police officer.

Former PSG player Clement Chantome, who knows Aurier, recently said he was concerned about the defender's "disturbing" behaviour.