Napoli owner and president Aurelio de Laurentiis has vowed the club will no longer sign African players unless they sign a waiver confirming they will not play in the African Cup of Nations.
It comes just months after Kalidou Koulibaly – the long-term Napoli star who has since joined Chelsea this summer – played an inspirational role in helping Senegal win the tournament, while midfielder Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa also starred for Cameroon.
Koulibaly and Anguissa both missed six matches for the Serie A club due to their participation for their nations in the tournament, which took place across January and February last season. Algerian duo Adam Ounas and Karim Zedadka are also part of Napoli’s squad as is highly-rated Nigeria striker Victor Omishen.
Koulibaly and Anguissa – two key members of Napoli’s squad – were unavailable for their Serie A draw against Juventus and Coppa Italia elimination at the hands of Fiorentina, but the team managed to win four league games in their absence. Koulibaly was key for Senegal in winning their first ever major tournament as Anguissa helped hosts Cameroon to a third-placed finish.
Napoli president De Laurentiis told the Wall Street Italia show this week: "Enough of African players, or they should give up playing in the African Cup of Nations. I won't be buying them any more for this reason.
"We pay the salaries to send them around to play elsewhere in the middle of the league championship. Or they sign a waiver that for AFCON and the championships in South America [the Copa America], I cannot make them available to participate."
Have Your Say! Is the African Cup of Nations not afforded its proper respect in European football? Tell us what you think here.
Koulibaly spent eight years at Napoli, becoming a club icon, prior to his switch to Chelsea this summer, and responded to the comments from De Laurentiis on Wednesday: "You cannot speak about African national teams like this. You have to have respect, and as captain of Senegal it is not a good way to speak.
"If he thinks that the team can play without African players, it's up to him. But I think not everybody has the same idea as him in the club, because I know their supporters and they don't think like this."
Earlier this year, former Arsenal star Ian Wright posed the question on his Instagram account: "Is there ever a tournament more disrespected than the Africa Cup of Nations?"
The iconic former striker also criticised the media’s coverage of the competition: "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?"
