CAMEROON Football Federation president and former star player Samuel Eto’o (pic) apologised for kicking a man to the ground in what he called a “violent altercation” outside a World Cup stadium.
Eto’o had paused to pose for photos with fans near Stadium 974 after Brazil beat South Korea 4-1. A video originally posted on social media by newspaper La Opinion showed him then reacting to comments by a man holding a camera.
The former Barcelona and Inter Milan forward was initially held back by people in his entourage, but he then got clear and appeared to aim a kick at the man, who fell backwards to the ground.
“I had a violent altercation with a person who was probably an Algerian supporter,” Eto’o wrote in statements posted in French and English on his Twitter account, citing a month-long campaign by that country’s fans against Cameroon since their World Cup playoff in March.
“I would like to apologise for losing my temper and reacting in a way that does not match my personality,” said Eto’o, who has represented Qatar’s World Cup organising committee as a Global Legacy Ambassador since 2019.
The man, Algerian social media personality Said Mamouni, later published a video on YouTube saying he was the person who was attacked, and that he was at a Qatari police station to file a complaint against Eto’o.
“Samuel had a fight with me. He hit me, and the one accompanying him pushed me. I’m here to lodge a complaint and he also smashed my camera,” Mamouni said.
He said that Eto’o became violent after Mamouni asked him whether he had bribed Gambian referee Bakary Gassama in a controversial World Cup qualifying game between Cameroon and Algeria. Cameroon won the second leg 2-1 in the final moments of the match and qualified for the World Cup on the away goals rule.
Algeria Football Federation filed a complaint with FIFA, football’s governing body, demanding a replay of the match because of what they deemed were referring errors made by Gassama.
FIFA dismissed the complaint. — AP
