December 21 – In what has all the hallmarks of a classic club versus country dispute, seven Cameroon players say they are shunning the Africa Cup of Nations, which begins on January 14.
The Cameroon football association (Fecafoot) reserves the right to take action against the players, who include Liverpool defender Josip Matip, by requesting FIFA to suspend the absentees at club level for the duration of the three-week tournament.
Cameroon coach Hugo Broos said: “These players have put personal interest above those of the national team and the federation reserves the right to take action against the players in accordance with FIFA regulations.”
The other six players are Allan Nyom of West Bromwich Albion, Andre Onana (Ajax), Guy N’dy Assembe (Nancy), Maxime Poundje (Girondins Bordeaux), Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa (Olympique Marseille) and Ibrahim Amadou (Lille).
All seven had been named in a preliminary list of 35 for the tournament – the final 23-man squad will be named next week.
Cameroon are drawn in Group A with hosts Gabon, Burkina Faso and Guinea Bissau.
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