Djamel Belmadi remains Algeria coach and attacks referee Bakary Gassama
Algerian coach Djamel Belmadi, January 16, 2022. REUTERS - THAIER AL-SUDANI
Text by: David Kalfa Follow
4 mins
Djamel Belmadi claimed in a video published by the Algerian Football Federation (FAF) that he will remain the coach of the Algerian team, despite the elimination of the Fennecs in the first round of the 2021 African Cup of Nations. and the non-qualification of the Greens for the 2022 World Cup. The technician, whose contract is supposed to end at the end of the year, attacks in passing with virulence Bakary Gassama, the referee of the decisive match lost against Cameroon.
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This is a video that has been talking about since it was posted on April 24.
Four weeks after the
Algerian
team failed to qualify for the
World Cup in Qatar
, Djamel Belmadi finally clarifies his position: he will honor the rest of his contract, which began in 2018 and is supposed to end at the end of 2022.
But it is not his words about his future that are the most reacting.
After three-quarters of an hour, the coach of the Greens attacks with virulence Bakary Gassama, referee during the decisive match won 2-1 after extra time by the Cameroonians in the return play-off.
"
I'm not saying that he should be killed, but he should not be left alone
," says the technician, who believes that the Gambian made several very serious mistakes during this meeting.
"
He took away the hope of a whole people and we leave him like that
", fumes the one who won
CAN 2019
with the Fennecs before being eliminated in the first round of
CAN 2021
.
"
There were two men of the match, in this match: the first is Bakary Gassama and the second is the Cameroonian goalkeeper André Onana
”, he quips.
Obviously, the former PSG, Marseille and Manchester City midfielder had the opportunity to explain himself to the person concerned.
"
I have to say that I did not like at all, the next day, seeing this referee at Algiers airport, comfortably seated in the lounges, drinking coffee and eating a millefeuille
," he said. -he.
I emptied my bag with this referee.
I ran into him again in Turkey, afterwards.
I told him the same thing again.
I told him who he was.
I didn't like that we could accept this kind of thing
”.
On arbitration, "we are still in the prehistoric age"
Bakary Gassama is however not the only one to take for his rank.
“
The two things that need to be settled most imperatively in Africa are arbitration and infrastructure
,” assures Djamel Belmadi.
The grounds are a little better.
But when we see the level of refereeing, we are still far from the high level.
For me, we are still at the prehistoric […] age.
Wanted or not wanted?
Do some find their interest there, in this CAF, perhaps in this FIFA, I don't know?
In any case, it is an observation, it is a fact
”.
Djamel Belmadi is also targeting "
conspirators from within
" within Algerian football, who would work in the shadows for his downfall.
They “
are not many: six or seven very easily identifiable people.
They follow personal projects and come to fuck the discord.
With them, there is never hope, there is only darkness
(sic)
in them
”.
"The goal is not to throw everything in the trash"
Djamel Belmadi, he is still struggling to move on.
“
It's not the best team that qualified for the World Cup.
It's the injustice and cruelty of football
, ”he says.
“
We can't say that we have fully recovered and that we have already moved on… It's a heavy thing to carry and we will have to carry it for a while
,” continues the technician.
Considering quitting?
Djamel Belmadi clarifies: “
I gave all my managers the opportunity to terminate my contract.
[…] If they had thought that I was no longer the man for the job or that they had seen the arrival of another coach with a good eye, there would have been no problem.
I would have left in silence.
[…] It was not accepted.
It was not a resignation but a proposal.
»
The one who was born and raised in France is in any case resolutely turned towards the qualifications for CAN 2023, which begin next June.
“
We had time to think about the strategy and the new breath that we are going to send
(sic)
to this group, to create another dynamic.
The goal is not to throw everything in the trash, to question everything
, ”says the one who claims to have an obsession: to carry the flag of Algeria as high as possible.
“
In a way, this objective has been achieved
”, referring to the coronation of 2019 or this series of 35 matches without defeat.
And to recall: "
If I had chosen the easy way, I would not be at the head of the national team...
"
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