Samuel Eto'o handed six-month FIFA ban after ex-Chelsea star's 'offensive' actions
Samuel Eto'o has been hit with a six month ban by FIFA following his conduct at a Cameroon game and must now miss his country's games for half a year according to the governing body
Cameroon football chief Samuel Eto'o has been barred from attending the national team's games for six months after being hit with a ban by FIFA.
The ex- Barcelona and Inter Milan star violated FIFA’s disciplinary regulations according to the governing body. The charges relate to Eto'o's actions following Cameroon’s last-16 game against Brazil at the Women's Under-20 World Cup, which the South Americans won 3-1 after extra time.
Details regarding the incidents were not disclosed by FIFA’s disciplinary committee. They said in a statement that Eto’o was deemed guilty of “offensive behaviour and violations of the principles of fair play” and “misconduct” involving officials.
Eto'o and his fellow Cameroonians were angered by a decision to award a penalty that led to Brazil’s equaliser in the match. Whilst the former striker is banned from attending games it does not impact on his role as the Cameroon Football Federation (Fecafoot) president - a role he's held since 2021.
FIFA have said the sanction would come into force immediately and that Eto’o can appeal the decision. Cameroon’s men face Kenya in a qualification double-header for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, which takes place in October. Eto’o also chaired a meeting in Douala earlier on Monday to discuss preparations ahead of the visit of the Harambee Stars that same month.
The ex-Chelsea man has previously found himself in hot water. Back In July he was fined $200,000 (£150,000) for a brand deal with an online gambling firm that was deemed to be an ethics violation by the Confederation of African Football.
He has also been in conflict with his country’s sports ministry, calling their appointment of Belgian Marc Brys earlier this year as the men’s team coach “illegal”. Eto’o is a four-time African Player of the Year and the second most-capped player in Cameroon’s history behind Rigobert Song.
Since 1990 Cameroon have only won two matches at the World Cup - one against Brazil recently in Qatar and the other a narrow 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia back in 2002. Eto'o played for the African nation, scoring the winner on that occasion as he also helped them make the World Cup in 2010.
Eto'o began his career at Real Madrid and later went on to enjoy success at Barcelona and Inter - winning the Champions League with both clubs. He scored in the finals in 2006 and 2009 as the Catalans twice conquered Europe. Former manager Jose Mourinho has commented that Eto'o would've been a deserving winner of the Ballon d'Or.
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