CAF condemns Napoli President’s unacceptable comments on African players
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has condemned Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis’ unacceptable comments on African players.
De Laurentiis said during an interview with Smart Talk on Wall Street Italia that his club will avoid signing any more African players unless they agree not to play in the Africa Cup of Nations.
The African Cup of Nations is the flagship competition of the African continent and one of the leading global football competitions. Its last edition in Cameroon was shown in more than 160 countries and attracted more than 600 million viewers.
Below is a statement from CAF:
“CAF is appalled by the irresponsible and unacceptable remarks made by Napoli President, Mr Aurelio De Laurentiis on African players and the Africa Cup of Nations.”
“By publicly declaring that players who sign for Napoli must sign a waiver denouncing participation in the Africa Cup of Nations as a condition of employment, De Laurentiis’ comments likely to fall under Article 14 of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations. CAF, therefore, urges UEFA to initiate a disciplinary investigation against him.
“CAF is committed to the role that football plays in Africa, Europe, North and South America, Asia and globally of bringing together and uniting people of different cultures, language groups, races, ethnic groups and religious backgrounds.
“We have no doubt that Napoli and UEFA are as committed as CAF is to these global humanitarian objectives.
“Are we to assume that the Chairman of Napoli is going to include similar restrictive conditions to players from South America, Asia and other Confederations prohibiting them from playing in their Continental competitions which are important for the development and growth of football globally?
“The African Cup of Nations is the flagship competition of the African continent and one of the leading global football competitions. Its last edition in Cameroon was shown in more than 160 countries and attracted more than 600 million viewers.”