Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang complains that he is being held HOSTAGE as Gabon is being held without a passport at an airport in Gambia for six hours until 6am, hours before a major AFCON clash
- Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was detained at an airport
- The Gunners star traveled to Gambia with his Gabonese team for the AFCON
- However, the cadre was detained for more than six hours with passports being taken
- Aubameyang complained about the ordeal on social media a few hours before the tie
Arsenal star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang prevailed over the African football authorities after the Gabonese squad was held hostage a few hours before an important qualifying match at an airport in Gambia.
Aubameyang traveled to the West African country with his teammates to qualify for the African Cup of Nations. The team are looking to qualify for the tournament after missing out on the tournament in 2019.
The roster, which includes Fulham star Mario Lemina and former Sunderland midfielder Ibrahim Dong, spent six hours at the Gambia airport after staff held their passports.
Pierre Emerick Aubameyang was detained at an airport in Gambia ahead of an important AFCON game
Gabonese players were detained at an airport in Gambia for six hours prior to their game with the nation
Images of the team, which includes Aubameyang, were posted online overnight
Pictures of the fed up players lying on the floor have been circulated online. The roster reportedly stopped at around 11 p.m. local time yesterday evening before being released at 6 a.m. this morning.
And Aubameyang used social media to voice his complaints about how his squad had been treated by the authorities.
“What a great night at the airport,” tweeted the Gunners star of the Confederation of African Football.
The players reportedly had their passports on hold with the airport authorities, which caused the long delay
“I just want to know why Gambia keeps our passports for hours and they keep us at the airport. Are we hostages or what?
“Are you going to close your eyes? Do you want to see the next episode of this film? “, He added.
The 31-year-old then replied to a fan who had suggested teams apply new Covid-19 restrictions to use intimidation tactics to give their team an advantage, insisting that Gabonese are more motivated now than they were before.
The Arsenal captain complained about being held as a “hostage” by the African football authorities
Aubameyang and the squad were released around 6 a.m. when the Gunners star said the ordeal had given them “extra motivation”.
‘It won’t demotivate us, but people need to know, and most importantly, that the @CAF_Online [Confederation of African Football] Take that responsibility, ”replied Aubameyang.
“2020 and we want Africa to grow, that’s not how we get there !!!”
Gabon will face Gambia in the AFCON qualifiers at 4pm GMT. Confidence is high after beating his rivals 2-1 in the second leg last week.
Aubameyang was on the game sheet when Patrice Neveu’s side bounced back from their 2-0 loss to Benin during their international break in October.
Gabon will face Gambia later on Monday after winning 2-1 in the second leg last week
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