Although they were due to play against Senegal, the Malian players were stuck at their hotel reception. They criticize Nigeria's lack of fair play.
Mali is back in the news in an extra-sporting affair. On Thursday August 17, just a few hours before their second match in the Olympic qualifying tournament in Nigeria, the Malian players were barred from their hotel rooms. The reason was an outstanding hotel bill. "They no longer have access to their rooms. They've been stuck at reception since 1pm local time", Sport New Africa has learned. Hotel expenses are estimated at 9 million CFA francs. The advance has been paid. And the rest of the balance was to be paid on Thursday, according to Sport New Africa.
Nigeria points the finger
It took the intervention of FIBA for the Eagles to be able to collect their jerseys from their hotel, which is a 5-minute walk from the court where the competition is being played. Mali also denounced Nigeria's lack of fair play. The Malians had in fact beaten the Nigerians, which meant elimination for the D Tigers. "Nigeria have to be fair. The fact that they've been eliminated by Mali shouldn't allow them to play a trick on us and undermine the morale of our players", a source told SNA.
In the end, Mali narrowly lost to Senegal (74-71). In a press conference, coach Kaba Kanté refused to talk about it, explaining that it was a purely extra-sporting matter and that he would prefer to comment on what was happening in training and on the pitch. The latest news is that the Malian players have all returned to their rooms after the match. On Saturday 19, they face Cameroon for a place in the final.
