COMMUNIQUE OF THE PRESIDENT OF FECAFOOT FOLLOWING THE COMMENTS OF THE COACH OF ALGERIA DJAMEL BELMADI.
The Cameroonian Football Federation (Fecafoot) expresses its deep concern following the remarks made on April 24, 2022, by Mr. Djamel Belmadi, the coach of the Fennecs of Algeria, following the match counting for the Africa Zone play-offs of the Qatar 2022 World Cup, In his statements to FAF TV, the official media of the Algerian Football Federation, the person concerned implies that the result of the match would have been distorted to the detriment of Algeria by the referee and a “conspiracy of 2 or 3 people”
Cameroon reserves the right to bring the case in the coming days before the FIFA Ethics Commission. But already, Fécafoot disputes these defamatory allegations instilled in an allusive manner and repeatedly formulated by Algerian football leaders. She regrets that the persistence of this long-term controversy is likely to cause incidents similar to the verbal aggression suffered by Cameroonian officials on April 1 in Doha on the sidelines of the draw for the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
Fecafoot is deeply attached to the values of sport. She reminds us that the glorious uncertainty of our sport can hold results that are difficult to accept. But, in all circumstances, respect for the rules of the game, consideration due to the opponent, and acceptance of the result must prevail. It is the duty of any high-level leader to prepare the competitors and the public to taste, if necessary, the bitterness of defeat and experiences the pain of elimination in an unlikely scenario. Cameroon did it a few weeks ago when the national team was eliminated in the semi-finals of the AFCON TotalEnergies 2021 organized on its own soil,
It was the same when the Indomitable Lions conceded a defeat (0-1) against Algeria in the first leg which was played at the Japoma stadium in Douala.
Cameroon has always learned from its failures and got up after the fall to move forward. His track record is eloquent: He took part in 7 final phases of the World Cup – quarter-finalist in 1990; took part in 20 AFCONs for 5 victories and won the Olympic gold medal in 2000 in Sydney Fecafoot urges Algerian football leaders to use legal means to exercise their recognized rights. It asks all those involved never to forget the hedonistic function of football. Football is a game that should unite us in defeat as well as in victory.
