African players are discriminated against ...

[Rosco]

so says Kolo Toure:

Manchester City's problems with players talking themselves into trouble have resurfaced in the form of an outspoken attack from Kolo Touré in which he claims African players are the "victims of discrimination" in English football and alleges he has lost his place in Roberto Mancini's team because the club have a grudge against him for missing key matches to play for Ivory Coast.

Touré, removed as City's captain at the start of last season, also provides a withering assessment of Stefan Savic, the 20-year-old who was signed from Partizan Belgrade for £6m in the summer to provide extra competition for the centre-half places. "When you look at the performance of Savic [on his league debut] against QPR – excuse me, I'm relaxed."

However, it is when the former Arsenal captain talks about playing in next month's Africa Cup of Nations that his interview in the monthly French magazine So Foot takes a more sinister twist. Touré alleges it is held against African players who miss league fixtures because they are representing their country, stating that "it's going to get more and more difficult for us, the Africans".

"To compete in the ANC, it's catastrophic these days," he says. "Coaches no longer want to sign players because of it. I am convinced that, if I am not playing [for City], it's not only for football reasons. If it was only about the game, I'd be playing every week. I am the victim of that, and it has to be said."

Reflecting on the last tournament, Touré went on to speak of his belief that City had never forgiven him for missing almost a month of the season and not coming back as quickly as they wanted. "When I was in Angola for the ANC in 2010, the club hired a plane so that I could get back as soon as possible for a match against Manchester United [the Carling Cup semi-final second leg]. I couldn't get back in time and we lost. I believe that the club have not got past that, and I'm paying for it now."

The next tournament takes place in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon from 21 January to 12 February and Touré argues that clubs are against losing their players to it. His verdict is that "African players are the victims of discrimination".

When it comes to losing his place, a counter-argument could be made that Touré has not helped himself by testing positive for a banned substance, leading to the six-month ban that took him out of consideration until September. Joleon Lescott has become Vincent Kompany's regular centre-half partner and there is a strong sense behind the scenes that Touré's unusually outspoken comments lately reveal a player who is open to the idea of moving in the January transfer window.

Touré, never previously known as a dressing-room agitator, has talked of wanting to join Paris St-Germain and is known to have been angered by City's decision to take their own disciplinary action against him for the failed drugs test, with a six-week fine imposed. The 5-1 victory against Norwich City on Saturday was his first full game in the league this season and, though there have been four more starts in cup competitions, he has featured less than any of Mancini's three other central defenders.

Touré, however, seems distinctly unimpressed by the early impression left by Savic. "I know my qualities, I've got nothing to prove here in England, they know me here. Football's like that. It goes one way, then the other. The clubs at this level always have big squads. Look, I was the captain here. So was [Carlos] Tevez [who could join Milan in January after a complete breakdown in relations with Mancini] and he is no longer. Who would have thought that would happen?"

Mancini will be asked about Touré's comments when he holds a press conference on Tuesday to preview the crucial Champions League tie against Bayern Munich. In the meantime City's manager has learned that Aleksandar Kolarov will be out for a minimum of three weeks, but possibly twice that length, because of the groin injury the left-back suffered in the Carling Cup quarter-final at Arsenal last week. If City's worst fears are confirmed, Kolarov could miss as many as 10 matches.

 

[Insignificance]

*Awaiting Brave Evra's response*

 

[Squiggles]

No, Kolo, you're just a bitter cunt who has lost his place in the side. This outburst underlines the point that he's not fit to be a Captain.

 

[Rosco]

I thought that too to be honest but at the same time I can see why managers would want to avoid players that won't be available for a month of the season

 

[Squiggles]

It's definitely a consideration. Managers only care about their club and their job after all. It's not discrimination, it's just football. And by all accounts Lescott is performing well this season, and Kompany is irreplaceable, so there's no place for him at the moment. If he wasn't on his last big contract I reckon he would keep it zipped, but as it stands he probably doesn't give a damn.

 

[bkwitche2]

African players are discriminated against ...

How about this bombshell.

Move the fucking ANC to the off season like every other tournament in the wide world.

 

[Squiggles]

You can't.

It's too hot.

 

[Athens]

Not in South Africa it's not.

 

[Mystic]

[quote author=Squiggles link=topic=47807.msg1439219#msg1439219 date=1323184750]
You can't.

It's too hot.
[/quote]

Play in the evening, the world cup is being held in qatar for gods sake.

 

[localny]

Another millionaire footballer who doesn't know a real problem if it hit him in the face. And I thought African players would have some perspective on how lucky they are relative to what goes on in their countries

 

[Modo]

Re: African players are discriminated against ...

Yay race-card!

Twat.

 

[the count]

Also the practice of a club sending a plane to bring it's players back from abroad is hardly uncommon or restricted to African players.
Fergie had a private jet sent to Moscow to collect John O Shea and Darren Gibson and bring them back to Manchester after Ireland's match against Russia.

The fact that the plane returned to Manchester via Anchorage, Santiago, Wellington and New Delhi is irrelevant.

 

[localny]

Ha! Didn't he do the same when Keane pulled his hissy fit in Saipan? Shows what a role Fergie had in that

 

[Squiggles]

[quote author=athensruairi link=topic=47807.msg1439227#msg1439227 date=1323185486]
Not in South Africa it's not.
[/quote]

So one country hosts it every year? There's no chance of that happening.

My only complaint with the setup is that it should be every four years and not every two. They say it's more frequent to 'spread football throughout Africa', but I suspect it's just to make more cash really.

 

[Athens]

[quote author=Squiggles link=topic=47807.msg1439287#msg1439287 date=1323190132]
[quote author=athensruairi link=topic=47807.msg1439227#msg1439227 date=1323185486]
Not in South Africa it's not.
[/quote]

So one country hosts it every year?
[/quote]
Eerrr.... Botswana could host it some years.