How CAF reacted to Jamie Carragher when he devalued CAN!

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has responded via its social media accounts to former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher's comments about the African Cup of Nations while talking about Egyptian star Mohamed Salah.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) posted a tongue-in-cheek tweet that included images from the heroes' celebrations of the last three African Cup of Nations winners: Algeria (2019), Senegal (2021), and Ivory Coast (2023), as well as a photo of Johannesburg's Soccer City Stadium and South Africa's home win in 1996. CAF accompanied these images with a simple caption: “Big tournament”.

The continental body also published a video highlighting the history of the continent's most prestigious competition, noting that it is one of the largest and most prestigious tournaments in the world of football.

The video included many stars and legends who participated in the tournament and achieved success in it, such as Ivorian star Didier Drogba, Cameroonian lion Samuel Eto'o, Algerian Riyad Mahrez, Egyptian Mohamed Salah, Senegalese Sadio Mane, and other big African stars.

Jamie Carragher downplays the value of the Africa Cup!

Carragher recently sparked controversy during his appearance in the Sky Sports analysis studio for the Liverpool-Manchester City match, with his comments about Salah playing for Egypt and participating in the African Cup of Nations, which he considers a hindrance to him winning the Ballon d'Or.

The former Reds defender said: “I think the issue lies in the fact that Salah is playing for Egypt, and maybe not in a big international competition, or maybe he would have a better chance of winning (the Golden Ball) if he won the Champions League or one of the major tournaments.”

Carragher backtracks on his frustrating statement to Salah!

Under increasing pressure and criticism from several athletes and officials, Carragher retracted his statements to publish an explanatory statement through his personal account on the “X” platform, which read as follows:

“The point I was trying to make is that Mohamed Salah is in a difficult situation because of his involvement with the Egyptian national team, which reduces his chances of winning the Ballon d'Or.

“If Salah had a normal season with Liverpool and won the African Cup of Nations as the best player, I don't think that would be enough for him to win the Ballon d'Or, because the African tournament doesn't carry the same weight as other tournaments like the World Cup or the Euros.”

“If Mbappe had a normal season with Real Madrid and won the World Cup or the Euros, he would have a better chance of winning the Ballon d'Or. Even players like Shevchenko and Lewandowski didn't have much chance of winning the World Cup or the Euro to support their position.”

“I know Sadio Mane came second for the Ballon d'Or after winning the African Championship, but it wasn't because of the tournament alone, it was because Liverpool were on the verge of a quadruple at the time.

“It's not disrespectful to consider the World Cup, the Euros or the Champions League as more important tournaments. That's my point of view based on watching football. The expression I used wasn't precise, but I think most people understood what I was trying to say. I know a lot of people didn't like what I said, and that's normal. I don't usually respond to criticism, but I decided to clarify this time because I saw a lot of people talking without fully understanding my point of view.”

Hazem Mlhem |

Editorar, en

Hazem Mlhem est un rédacteur sportif expérimenté, animé par une passion pour le football africain.