By: Oma Akatugba
Burkina Faso striker Aristide Bancé has accused Egypt and other North African nations of racism. He also attacked the management of his club Al Masry. Bancé who is currently recovering from an Achilles tendon injury he sustained during Al Masry’s 2-0 victory over UD Songo in the CAF Confederation Cup group stages, made the allegations on a video posted on his Facebook page.
“CAF president wanted to know why African teams like Senegal, Tunisia, Egypt did not go far in this World Cup. I would like to tell him to look at African football a little bit. I think there is a high level of injustice. Africans who are playing in these North African countries are treated as slaves. The CAF president must look at this issue critically.“
Bance continues as he talked about the ordeal of a friend of his who plays for the same club as him
“My friend wrote to me earlier, and we play for the same club. They confiscated his passport and falsified a document that states that he received all his due payments and the Egyptian FA are in support of the club. The case is severe.
We Africans with dark skin, we are not respected.”
The Burkina Faso star was reported to have fled Egypt on several occasions without prior notice to his club.
“Football is not slavery, but over in Egypt, it is. It has to stop. I was a victim of that which is why I am talking about it, and nothing will scare me. Foreign players normally have the right to a residence permit. But [in Egypt] most foreigners do not have the residence card. They are given just a visa for three to four months. When the visa expires, you have to leave the country. And when you do not leave every day, there is a penalty.” “There are a lot of players out there who have to pay those penalties but have no money. The clubs abandon them in the street.” “That’s why Egypt failed in the World Cup because you are bad in your country. As long as you continue to be bad, your national team will be similar,” he concluded.
