After the interview in which Aurelio de Laurentiis, the president of SSC Napoli, explained that he no longer wanted to recruit African footballers because of their participation in the African Cup of Nations (CAN), the Confederation of African Football reacted. She denounces remarks irresponsible and unacceptable and called on UEFA to crack down.
The clear opinion of Aurelio de Laurentiisissued on August 2 in an interview with Wall Street Italia, continue to shock the world of football, especially in Africa. As a reminder, the sulphurous president of the Italian club of Naples had declared that they no longer wanted to recruit African players, except ” if they (me) sign a waiver to participate in the Africa Cup “. ” We are the idiots who pay the salaries to send them to play for others “, he added.
In a press release published on Sunday August 7, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) responds to Aurelio de Laurentiis. The association in charge of football in Africa says to itself ” appalled by the irresponsible and unacceptable remarks made by the president of Napoli FC “. The latter’s comments, regarding a CAN waiver as a condition of employment, ” are subject to Article 14 of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations “.
This article is about “Racism and other discriminatory behavior”. Paragraph 1 specifies that “any person (…) who violates the dignity of a person or a group of people for any reason whatsoever, in particular their skin color, race, religion, his ethnic origin, his gender or his sexual orientation shall be liable to a suspension of at least ten matches or for a fixed period, or to any other appropriate sanction”. Under this article, ” CAF therefore urges UEFA to open a disciplinary investigation against Aurelio de Laurentiis.
” Are we to assume that the president of Napoli is going to include similar restrictive conditions for players from South America, Asia and other confederations, prohibiting them from participating in their continental competitions which are important for development and growth? football in the world? asks CAF.
Last January-February, during the CAN which took place in Cameroon, Naples was deprived of Adam Ounas (eliminated in the first round with Algeria), André-Frank Zambo Anguissa (third with Cameroon) and Kalidou Koulibaly (winner with Senegal).
This last, transferred mid-July to Chelseadisavowed its former president at a press conference on August 4: “ For me, the most important thing is to respect everyone. (…) We have to respect the national teams. We can’t talk about a national team like that, I think. You have to have the same respect for the other national teams. As the captain of Senegal, I think it’s not a good way to talk about an African national team, but I respect what he thinks. If he thinks the team can play without African players, that’s his choice. But I think not everyone in the club has the same idea as him. I know everyone there, I know the fans and they don’t think like that. »