'Appalled' CAF Demands UEFA Initiate Disciplinary Action Against Napoli President For African Players Comments

'Appalled' CAF Demands UEFA Initiate Disciplinary Action Against Napoli President For African Players Comments

Lukman Mumuni
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:08 PM
In this article:
CAF Africa Cup of Nations logo
CAF AFCON
Africa
Italian Serie A logo
ITA Serie A
Italy
Victor Osimhen logo
V. Osimhen
Napoli logoFNigeria logo
  • The Confederation of African Football is demanding that UEFA takes disciplinary against Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis
  • The Napoli boss has disclosed that he will not be signing African players unless they sign an agreement to not play AFCON
  • Aurelio De Laurentiis' comments has outraged many, including Africa's football governing body, CAF

The Confederation of African Football, CAF, wants serious disciplinary action taken against Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis for his ‘irresponsible and unacceptable’ comments about African players.

Aurelio De Laurentiis claims his club will not sign African players unless they agreed to sign a deal that prevents them from playing Africa's flagship international competition, the Africa Cup of Nations.

His comments has drawn a response from CAF, who want UEFA to initiate disciplinary action against the Napoli president.

Patrice Motsepe, Aurelio De Laurentiis, Napoli, CAF
CAF has urged UEFA to initiate disciplinary action against Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis. Credit: @CAF_Online @sscnapoli
Source: Twitter
"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," wrote CAF in an official statement.

Exciting feature: Check out news exactly for YOU ➡️ find "Recommended for you" block and enjoy!

"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 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."

Napoli have three African players in their fold, including Nigeria's Victor Osimhen and Cameroon's Zambo Anguissa.

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis vows not to buy African players

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis has said that he will no longer buy players who turn out for African national teams.

De Laurentiis has claimed that he will only buy African players unless they vow not to represent their countries at the Africa Cup of Nations(AFCON).

In a statement bound to cause widespread reactions from African football stakeholders, De Laurentiis has said that it is unfair for European clubs to keep paying salaries to these players while they are representing other interests.

Authors
Lukman Mumuni photo
Lukman Mumuni
Lukman Abdul Mumin is a Sports Journalist based in Accra, Ghana. He has been writing for the past five years. Lukman joined Sports Brief as an Editor for the Local Desk in 2022.
Tags
World