"Next time you will stay there for military service. You will be sent
to the barracks until a sense of civic pride gets into your heads,"
the general said.."
Madiba:
Not too sure if there will be a next time, if I'm a player on a lucrative
contract in Europe as many of the players are. Please Gen Guei, do not give
any more unwarranted ideas to any other leader...be civic. It is just a
game, somebody has to loose, it is designed that way.
Jo Sambou, how many "milittary services" would your squards have owed?? Just
for laughs...
Regards
Baboucarr Sillah
>From: Madiba Saidy <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Win, Otherwise, You Will Serve In The Military?
>Date: Fri, 4 Feb 2000 11:53:37 -0800
>
>Heh! Heh! Heh!... Oh Geez!
>
> Friday, 4 February, 2000, 14:58 GMT
> Ivorian players threatened with military service
>
>The "Elephants" were eliminated after three matches
>
>
>Ivory Coast's military leader has denounced the national soccer team
>for playing badly and threatened them with military service if they
>play badly again.
>
>The Ivorian national team were held for three days in a military camp
>after being eliminated in the first round of the African Cup of Nations,
>before being taken to Abidjan on Thursday night for a dressing down
>from General Robert Guei.
>
>"I asked that you be taken there so you could reflect a while. You
>behaved unworthily. You should have avoided us such shame," General
>Guei was quoted as saying by the Fraternite Matin newspaper.
>
>The players, many on lucrative contracts with European clubs, were
>shown on state-controlled Ivorian television being forced to conduct
>military marches and receive lectures on discipline during their
>detention.
>
>"Next time you will stay there for military service. You will be sent
>to the barracks until a sense of civic pride gets into your heads,"
>the general said..
>
>General Guei, who came to power in a coup on Christmas Eve, said the
>country's sacrifice in giving the Elephants, as the team is called,
>thousands of dollars had been wasted.
>
>
> Expatriate players
>
>The BBC correspondent in Abidjan says the bizarre case of an incarcerated
>national football team reveals how seriously the sport is sometimes taken
>in Africa.
>
>The Ivory Coast squad is made up mainly of players based in Europe who
>return home to represent their country during international fixtures.
>
>These expatriate Ivorians, like many other African football stars who
>have sought to earn a good living abroad, are treated at home with a
>mixture of hero-worship and jealousy.
>
>Our correspondent says some of the players looked tired and angry when
>they were released from the military camp.
>
>They are now expected to return to their various European clubs in the
>next few days but after their experience, many of them may now think
>twice before returning home to play for their country.
>
>A player for the French club, Marseille, said he could not wait to
>return to France.
>
>
> Damage to African football
>
>Football clubs in Europe have expressed concern over the fate of
>their players and the President of the International Football
>Federation (Fifa), Sepp Blatter, contacted Ivory Coast's military
>authorities to try to find out about the players.
>
>"Detaining a team because it failed to qualify for the next round
>of a football competition is a blatant violation of the autonomy
>of the football association as well as the fair play principle," Mr
>Blatter said in a statement.
>
>Ivory Coast were eliminated from the tournament after three first
>round matches.
>
>They beat Ghana by a respectable 2-0, but only managed a draw against
>the much smaller state of Togo and were then thrashed 3-0 by Cameroon,
>one of the best teams on the continent.
>
>
> -- THE BBC ONLINE NEWS --
>
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