Cameroon goalkeeper Andre Onana reported late to camp and was left out of the Indomitable Lions opening fixture of the African Cup of Nations against Guinea Monday.
Onana stayed back in England to help Manchester United to a 2-2 draw on Sunday at Old Trafford. He boarded a private jet hoping to meet up with the Lions in Yamoussoukro later in the evening, but bad weather conditions prevented Onana’s plane from landing in the Ivorian capital city about 150km from Abidjan.
However, he made it to the Charles Konan Banny Stadium before the match started, but coach Rigobert Song picked Onana’s cousin Fabrice Ondoa to man the post.
Speaking before the tournament, former Premier League defender and Cameroon international, Sebastien Bassong, accused Onana of disrespecting the national side as he opted to continue playing for United.
‘It’s out of order from both sides,’ Bassong told the BBC.
‘It’s disrespectful from Manchester United to request Onana to do such a thing and it’s really low from Onana to even consider it.
‘It sends such a bad message for not only Cameroon, but for the respect that people will have for AFCON and the way they should treat us.
‘If we can’t even respect ourselves, how can we expect other people to treat us any different? For me, Andre Onana is shooting us and himself in the foot.
‘If I was in the squad I wouldn’t be having any of that. You can’t play a game the day before and think you can just fly out to the continent and play another game.
‘Just the thought of it drives me crazy, I’m so disappointed.
‘For me, you’ve got to teach him a lesson. I like Andre, I always have his back but when things like this happen, the pride of the country and the continent is way above an individual person.
‘For me he should stay home and get punished for that.’
