Infighting in the Gabonese national team - differential pay, silence on domestic sexual assault cases, pre-match alcoholism

Maher Mezahi, an African independent football journalist hired by The Athletic uK, published a new op-ed titled Aubameyang's exile, sexual abuse allegations and a league in limbo: Gabon's tale of turmoil

In the article, Mezahi quoted an article published by a major Gabonese newspaper, the League, while the local gabonese media also broke the news about the reasons for Aubameyang and Lemina's "withdrawal" from the national team.

"On Sunday at 18:00, Willy Aubameyang, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mario Lemina left the hotel for an unknown destination... It is true that the three men returned to the hotel drunk around 5 a.m. on Monday, and there were even some clashes with hotel security guards and players. ”

Aubameyang and Lemina instantly denied the allegations on social media, and Lemina even launched a bombardment of the media on Instagram, but it didn't take long for him to delete the Instagram.

Players like Lemina, Aubameyang and former Charlton striker Frederick Blow are known to have been paid handsomely for playing for their countries of origin. There is also a double standard of remuneration between some dual nationality players and other "local indigenous" players.

Former Gabon international Ebanega, who has made 13 appearances for Gabon and is now president of gabon's National Professional Footballers Association (AFNPG), explained the main problems with gabon's domestic league shutdown due to the pandemic and said the league has still not restarted.

Others argue that the real reason is financial, because the entire league is funded entirely by the government of President Ali Bongo, who often uses football to cover up his authoritarian leanings. They had promised to resume the football league in September or October 2021, but that promise was never delivered.

Ebanega said: "In the absence of communication about the reasons for the failure of the league to resume, we want to join the national team in November. On the way to Fransville, where the national team is located, 5 people were arrested, including two union members and three youth internationals. ”

The wanton arrest of the five deeply shocked the public, and one of the detainees was 37-year-old former Rennes midfielder Stephane N'Guema, who played more than 40 international matches for Gabon before retiring.

When the five were arrested, former Sunderland King Endong was preparing to leave for the national team, but he then posted a long ins, saying that he would no longer participate in the national team's World Cup qualifiers against Libya. As a result, his Gabonese national team teammate Lemina immediately jumped out to intimidate him, which hinted at the real division and infighting within the Gabonese national team, and Endong was directly not selected for the big list of this Year's Africa Cup of Nations.

In the sexual assault scandal that shook Gabon's football scene a few months ago, the lack of unity shown by the country's biggest soccer stars is also evident.

Since the publication of several exclusive articles in the Guardian, the investigation process in Gabon has been launched. The coach, nicknamed "Capello," could face 30 years in prison if found guilty, and two other coaches were also prosecuted.

But throughout the process, Aubameyang and other Gabonese football stars in Europe have remained remarkably silent. So for all these reasons, most experts do not believe that Gabon has a chance to qualify for the knockout stages of the Africa Cup of Nations. However, after last night's draw with Morocco, they defeated the bad luck and advanced to the round of 16. Previously, they had defeated the Comoros and taken Ghana.

Gabon will face Burkina Faso in a knockout match in Limbe on January 23, and unlike the African Cup of Nations, fans are now supporting Gabon, who have regained a touch of national pride after gabon's results have rebounded.