AFCON
Senegal’s Koulibaly blasts Napoli owner to show respect over AFCON comments
Chelsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly said Aurelio De Laurentiis, the owner of his former club Napoli, should respect African teams as much as other national sides in the wake of his comments about the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
De Laurentiis said on Tuesday that he would no longer sign African players unless they agreed to skip the AFCON tournament as its mid-season scheduling deprived Napoli of players.
Koulibaly, who spent eight seasons at Napoli before joining Chelsea, and captained Senegal to AFCON victory while playing for the Serie A club, said the majority of supporters did not share De Laurentiis’s opinion.
“For me, the most important thing is to respect everybody,” Koulibaly told reporters on Wednesday. “You cannot speak about an African national team like this. You have to have respect as you have for the other national teams.
“I think not everyone in the club has the same idea as him. I know everybody over there, I know the supporters, and the supporters don’t think like this.”
In a separate interview published on Wednesday,the 31-year-old said De Laurentiis did not allow him to leave Napoli in 2015 when Chelsea made an earlier attempt to sign him.
“I asked respectfully to the owner that I wanted to leave for Chelsea but he told me that it wouldn’t be possible,” Koulibalytold the Guardian.
“So I waited a bit and continued my conversation with them but they really didn’t want me to leave the club so I decided to renew my contract to stay in Napoli.”
While Napoli came close to winning Serie A under manager Maurizio Sarri, Koulibaly lifted only one Italian Cup trophy while at the club.
He said his chances of winning silverware were higher at the Premier League club.
“With my personal experience, I know you don’t have to give a limit to your dream and my dream is to win everything with Chelsea,” he added.
“I don’t come with arrogant behaviour. I come with respect, a lot of respect for everybody, but I know Chelsea is a big team and a team that has to win, that’s used to winning.”
-Reuters
AFCON
Prominent Libyan football official calls for tough sanction on those responsible for Super Eagles’ maltreatment
A prominent Libyan football official, Al-Siddiq Abu Hadima,has called for tough sanctions on the Libyan Football Federation officials responsible for the crisis that engulfed the suspended Libya-Nigeria Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match.
Hadima, a former president of the Al-Dhahra Club, asked for the dismissal and prosecution of those responsible for the crisis.
In a publication in Libya’s outlet. Al-Wasat, Hadima recommended that if such people failed to submit a report that will exonerate them when the Sunday 20 October deadline issued by CAF lapses, “then they must be prosecuted and permanently dismissed.”
Al-Wasat got Hadima’s comments from his post on Facebook and remarked that “this negligence – if it happened – constitutes a betrayal of trust and a lack of awareness of the gravity of responsibility.”
It will be recalled that the Nigerian delegation to the botched match was held up for close to 20 hours at an abandoned Labraq Airport where their aircraft already on descent was dangerously diverted to.
The Nigerians were left without food and water for nearly 20 hours. CAF has already strongly condemned the actions of the Libyans.
As an investigation into the botched Libya-Nigeria Africa Cup of Nations match, the Libyan FA secretary, Nasser Al-Suwaie has raised queries on the integrity of the personnel of the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
In a report published in the online version of Libyaalahrar.tv, Al-Suwaie remarked that there may be collusion from some parties within CAF, but the position of the Libyan Federation is strong.
He added that the Libyan Federation did not change the course of the plane’s landing to Al-Abraq Airport, and the reason for changing the plane’s landing to Al-Abraq was a decision by the Libyan state, and that the sovereignty of the Libyan state must be respected by everyone.
He however was silent on why the team was held hostage at the Al Abraq Airport and why the Libyan FA did not provide any logistic support to the Nigerian team that was held up at the airport for more than 16 hours without food and water.
Sources in Libya have confirmed that the Libyan Football Federation is under investigation over the botched Libya-Nigeria Africa Cup of Nations qualifier which failed to hold last Tuesday.
Nasser Al-Suwaie, Secretary-General of the Libyan FA, reportedly confirmed that the body has been queried by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
The Libyan FA has been asked to submit documents related to the cancellation of the match.
According to Libya Al-Ahrar, the FA has given them up till Sunday 20 October to submit the documents related to this file.
The Libyan FA secretary general, Al-Suwaie indicated that the body has assigned a specialized lawyer to provide evidence.
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