Aliou Cisse, the head coach of the Senegal national team, responded strongly to comments by Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp. Klopp had to issue another statement.
The controversy arose over the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cameroon from January 9 to February 6, 2022. This made Liverpool have to lose Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, and Naby Keita.
When asked about the presence of the Africa Cup of Nations, which saw Liverpool lose players, Klopp indicated that the tournament was “small”. Cisse is hot too.
“So who does Klopp think he is?” he said in Daily Express.
“I coached Senegal and my players played for Klopp at Liverpool. I respect Liverpool, but it wasn’t Klopp who looked down on African football. He is where he is thanks to African footballers.”
SportBible said Cisse also said Klopp owed his African players a debt of losing “in every final” until Salah, Mane and Joel Matip came along.
“Today he dared to say AFCON a ‘small tournament’. AFCON has the same number of participants, 24, as the European Cup. So who do you think Klopp is?”
“AFCON will present a megastar who is also helping him shine at Liverpool. AFCON has the same quality as the European Cup,” said Cisse.
Realizing that his previous comments had sparked controversy, and backlash, Klopp later clarified that he never intended to demean the African continent, its footballers, or the event there.
“There is absolutely no intention in my mind to call AFCON a small tournament, or the African continent like a small continent. Absolutely not,” said Klopp.
“I said then, ‘no more international break until March’ and I said ‘Oh, and there’s still a small tournament in January’. kinda ironic.”
(krs / aff)
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