May 30 – The festering dispute enveloping Cameroon’s national team management has reached breaking point with head coach Marc Brys replaced without taking charge of a single game.
His dismissal follows a heated exchange with former playing legend Samuel Eto’o, president of the country’s football federation (Fecafoot), with Martin Ndtoungou named as interim boss of the Indomitable Lions following an emergency meeting of Fecafoot’s executive committee.
A statement cited “disrespectful comments” by Brys and “an outright refusal to collaborate” among several reasons for sacking the Belgian, as well as “inappropriate behaviour” by him and his assistants.
Brys was appointed in early April by Cameroon’s sports ministry but Fecafoot expressed its “great astonishment” at the move and said the decision had been “taken unilaterally”.
Eto’o, the former Barcelona, Inter Milan and Chelsea striker, had reportedly drawn up his own list of higher-profile candidates for the role and was not consulted when Brys, 62, was unveiled.
The pair met at Fecafoot’s offices on Tuesday for what was supposed to be a clear the air summit but videos on social media showed an explosive confrontation between them before Brys swiftly left.
Eto’o, who has been president of Fecafoot since December 2021, was also shown having a row with an official from the sports ministry which is yet to comment on this latest bombshell development in the power struggle between itself and Fecafoot.
Eto’o’s spell as Fecafoot president has been hit by several controversies, not least allegations of being involved in match-fixing and abuse of power.
The drama comes amid the build-up to next month’s qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, with Cameroon hosting Cape Verde on June 8 before travelling to Angola three days later.
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Source link : https://www.insideworldfootball.com/2024/05/30/cameroon-fa-fire-government-appointed-brys-row-etoo/
Author : Paul Nicholson
Publish date : 2024-05-30 15:30:02
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