Equatorial Guinea: Nsue and Salvador hit back after suspensions
Suspended by the Equatorial Guinean football federation, Emilio Nsue and Ivàn Edu Salvador have decided to fight back
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The affair has been making headlines for almost 48h. With AFCON 2023 barely over, the Equatorial Guinean Football Federation has found itself under intense scrutiny after announcing the suspensions " until further notice " of two senior players in the senior national team: Emilio Nsue and Ivàn Edu Salvador. Key figures in Nzalang Nacional's run in Ivory Coast, the two players are accused by the governing body of acts of indiscipline on the sidelines of the competition and were reportedly singled out in a report submitted by head coach Juan Micha Obiang.
Read more: Nsue and Salvador suspended by Equatorial Guinea
The coach, who was also dismissed by his federation straight after returning home, was keen to refute that version of events. Appearing on the national public television programme A Fondo, he dismissed the Feguifut's line concerning Nsue, the AFCON top scorer, saying he never incriminated him at any point. "When you say someone is undisciplined, the reasons must be spelled out. If Emilio commits an act of indiscipline, you have to say what he did", he insisted.
"I am surprised that people say the players were suspended as a result of my report", Juan Micha said, before explaining that Ivàn Edu's case appears more delicate. "The incident I know about and witnessed at close quarters is Ivàn's (…) He asked for help and nobody helped him. If the Federation suspends him, that can be accepted, but for Emilio, I don't know what happened. Nowhere in my report do I say that he was undisciplined", said the now former head coach, without giving further details on why the midfielder was sidelined.
Nsue the ringleader of a revolt?
While theories and rumours are flying around Ivàn Edu Salvador's suspension, Emilio Nsue's is said to stem from an emerging dispute with the Equatorial Guinean federation and the Ministry of Sports. According to information from Sport News Africa, the Nzalang Nacional captain is being portrayed by his federation as the ringleader of a revolt against the country's sports minister, who reportedly failed to honour certain commitments over bonuses before and during the tournament.
Another episode further heightened tensions: the delegation's hasty departure from the hotel where the team stayed during their AFCON 2023 preparations because of unpaid bills. With the bill unsettled, the Feguifut was asked to pack up and leave earlier than planned. A heated exchange then took place between Emilio Nsue and the president of the Equatorial Guinean Football Federation, whom the captain accused of misappropriating funds earmarked for the national team.
Unpaid hotel bill and the safe affair
In another episode, this time at the airport after the defeat by Guinea, the Equatorial Guinean delegation saw Ivorian police step in on the tarmac and stop the team flying home. The reason? A report that a safe had been stolen from the hotel where the team was staying. Officers spent several minutes searching the many bags before finding the safe, which had been taken by Ivàn Edu Salvador. The player reportedly decided to put his valuables in it after being the victim of a theft, and to take the box with him. After police stepped in to recover the safe and return the player's belongings, the federation accuses him of causing an incident that tarnishes the body's image.
Given the scale the situation has taken on, Emilio Nsue and Ivàn Edu Salvador have decided to respond. The two players announced they will give their version of events and set the record straight in a live session on Instagram this Thursday (20:00 GMT). They intend to address the reasons for their being sidelined and "all the situations experienced during AFCON 2023" because of the Feguifut's management. In a document seen by Sport News Africa and signed by the team's players, they complain of the treatment they endured during their preparation and stay in Ivory Coast, and point the finger at their federation. They also denounce the disappearance of 800,000 dollars intended for bonuses. "My players' behaviour was exemplary. Internally we have rules and a system of sanctions. I myself was penalised for arriving two minutes late for training", said Juan Micha, who fears that players will no longer want to join up with the national team after this affair, which does not yet appear to be over.