Liverpool and England legend, Jamie Carragher, recently stirred the hornet’s nest when he referred to the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) as not a major tournament. If he were a Nigerian, maybe he would have referred to the highly cherished African competition as a “backyard tournament.”
Speaking shortly after Liverpool’s 2-0 win over English Premier League (EPL) title holders, Manchester City, Carragher who adores Salah said the player is not among the favourites for this year’s Ballon d’Or because the AFCON is not up to the standard of Euros.
Immediately after his controversial remark, there was a backlash as the whole of the continent, led by its legendary stars like Didier Drogba, Austin ‘Jay Jay’ Okocha, Mike Obi and Austin Eguavoen, descended on him, saying he had disrespected one of the biggest tournaments in the world. In fact, Okocha almost took it personal with Carragher when he said the Liverpool legend was such an awful player in his days and shouldn’t be taken seriously.
As a matter of fact, Okocha summed up his speech by saying that Carragher was such a poor player that no one would be happy to name his son after him. His angry assessment elicited a loud laughter from his young audience. It was that bad. However, it is said that he who brings an ant infested log into his compound should expect the visit of lizards. Carragher goaded African legends and got what he deserved.
Anyway, when it dawned on him that he had goofed, the renowned football pundit amended his initial statement by saying that he didn’t mean to underrate the AFCON as his intention was to bring forth the fact that past winners of the Ballon d’Or were mostly European players who took part in the Euros. He said, “One of the reasons might be because the Ballon d’Or was the European Footballer of the Year, so maybe voters are biased towards European football.”
Carragher, who spoke on CBS Sports, went further to say “I should have been much tidier with my language around that, but you look at the Euros and other competitions, and some of them resonate with Ballon d’Or voters.
“Where I got it wrong is, I was clumsy with my language in describing AFCON as not a major tournament.” This showed how remorseful he had become after the backlash, but it was like medicine after death. Most people are still upset by his uncomplimentary comments.
