AFCON not accorded respect by media- Wright
Former Arsenal striker, Ian Wright says Africa Cup of Nations is being “disrespected” by some negative media coverage.
The 24-team competition begins on 9 January and will feature a host of Premier League and European stars.
Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira is among those to also call for the tournament to be given more respect.
“Is there ever a tournament more disrespected than the Africa Cup of Nations?” Wright said on Instagram.
On the media coverage around Afcon he claimed: “There is no greater honour than representing your country. The coverage is completely tinged with racism.
“We played our Euros across 10 countries in the middle of a pandemic and there’s no issue at all.
But Cameroon, a single country hosting a tournament, is a problem.
“There are players getting asked if they will be honouring the call-ups to their national teams.
Imagine if that was an England player representing the Three Lions. Can you imagine the furore?”
Former Newcastle, Tottenham and Norwich defender Sebastien Bassong, who won 18 caps for Cameroon, says he recognises the double standard.
People don’t really give any respect to the Africa Cup of Nations,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live.
The end of the day, our national teams are just as important as the European ones and the others.
