Despite His Apologies, Faé Slams Carragher After His Criticism of the AFCON!

The apologies and explanations from former Liverpool player Jamie Carragher have not been enough to calm the wave of criticism from the African continent following his recent statements that sparked a lively controversy. He had downplayed the value of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and questioned Egyptian star Mohamed Salah's chances of winning the Ballon d'Or.

Carragher: "I clumsily described the AFCON"

Carragher apologized during a television interview on "CBC Sports," expressing his regrets to all Africans by stating:

"I have very strong opinions, I love debate and that will never change. However, I would not want to be described as an ignorant or disrespectful pundit, whether it's for a player, a club, a country, a continent, a continental tournament, anything. What I would say is that where I went wrong was that I clumsily described the AFCON as not being a major tournament."

He added:

"I was trying to explain what could help Mo Salah win the Ballon d'Or, and I wanted to explain that the AFCON, like the Gold Cup and the Asian Games (actually the Asian Cup, editor's note), may have less resonance with those voting for the Ballon d'Or. But they remain major tournaments. It was certainly not my intention to offend anyone. I hope my words have been understood and that no one still feels offended."

Emerse Faé Attacks Carragher Over His Comments on the AFCON

The indignant reactions to the English ex-player's statements have continued to multiply. After the stance taken by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), as well as several African football legends like Emmanuel Adebayor, El Hadji Diouf, Jay-Jay Okocha, Ahmed Hassan, and Mido, it is now the turn of Ivory Coast's coach, Emerse Faé, to respond firmly to these controversial remarks.

During a press conference held yesterday to announce his squad for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, Faé declared:

“We started the year with the Asian Cup, then there was the Euro and the Copa América. Any objective person who followed these competitions will tell you that the best of them was the AFCON. I tried to watch the Euro, and frankly... I couldn't stick it out to the end, I got bored.”

He added: “The AFCON brings together players like Mohamed Salah, who delights Liverpool fans, Ivan Ndicka, who is a key player at Roma, and Ademola Lookman, who carries Atalanta on his shoulders.”

And he continued: “The reason Carragher does not consider the AFCON a major competition simply lies in his ignorance of African football.”

He concluded: “This is a clear message for Africa: we must go to the next World Cup and show him that the AFCON is one of the greatest competitions in the world.”

Finally, he delivered a final jab at Carragher: “The only thing I can tell him is that he should come to Africa more often to see for himself how African nations have developed.”

Read also >> "I clumsily described the AFCON", Jamie Carragher apologizes!

Mohamed Rek |

Editorfr, ar, en

Mohamed Rek- sports content writer with over 10 years of experience creating football content in Arabic and French for platforms such as Foot Africa and Starafrica, combining accuracy, creativity, and audience engagement.