ACTUALITE |
21.10.2003
French clubs snub Africa
Four French clubs have insisted they will not permit their African stars to play in the final round of the Olympic qualifying series.
The first division clubs - Sochaux, Lille, Metz and second division Nancy have taken this stance because they claim the games coincide with French league and Cup games.
But Nancy`s Ivorian forward Francois Zoko defied his club`s decision and travelled for Saturday`s qualifier in Mali.
"He will be punished [for defying the ban]," said Nancy`s general manager Gerard Parentin, who claimed that Olympique Marseille, Metz, Gueugnon and Lorient were also concerned about releasing their African imports for the qualifiers.
Nancy said it had informed the Senegalese, Moroccan and Ivorian soccer federations earlier this month that it would not release their respective players - Pape Diakhite, Moncef Zerka and Zoko - because the games are not scheduled in Fifa`s unified calendar.
"This calendar covers 12 match dates and none of these six Olympic qualifiers take place on these dates," said Parentin.
Lille`s administrative director Xavier Thuillot said Cameroon`s Jean Makoun would not be released for Sunday`s match against the Democratic Republic of Congo.
"We were told very late, outside Fifa`s time limit, about an unofficial match and in addition they want him for six days.
"Under these conditions we said no."
Sochaux president Jean-Claude Plessis said the club had two players likely to be affected by the qualifiers - Ibrahim Tall of Egypt and Jaouad Zairi of Morocco - although none were called up for this weekend`s games.
"I had Gerard Parentin on the phone and I am totally behind him. If there is a fault in the rules, we will exploit it," he said.
Metz has three players eligible for the qualifiers and two of them - Senegal`s Pape Thiaw and Babacar Gueye - have been allowed to play for their country this weekend, as both players are currently suspended in the French championship.
"As for [playing in] the other games, we will see," said Metz`s sporting director Patric Razurel.
"We have sent a fax to the Senegal federation telling them we are not obliged to release the players.
"These qualifiers always fall on days when league matches are played. It`s annoying.
Razurel said they have asked the French federation to enter a dialogue with Fifa to resolve the problem.
The final round of African qualifying games for Athens 2004 will be played between October and March 2004.
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Hits: 1 | Source:BBC | |
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