Africa Sports News of Wednesday, 20 January 2021
Source: goal.com
Zimbabwe head coach Zdravko Logarusic has refused to blame Cameroon’s alleged witchcraft for his side’s defeat in their African Nations Championship opener after a bat carcass was found on the pitch ahead of the game, but he has outlined his belief that such intimidation tactics have no place in the sport.
Chan hosts Cameroon dispatched the Warriors 1-0 in their tournament opener at the weekend, with Salomon Banga scoring the only goal of the game with an acrobatic bicycle kick late in the second half.
However, the contest was marred by pre-match allegations of witchcraft, with Logarusic pictured alongside a bat’s carcass that had been found on the centre circle.
“If you want to talk professionally, those things should not be involved in anything professionally,” he told Goal. “For sure, football is football, sport is a sport.
“We exposed it, this photograph exposed that these things still exist,” he added. “Those things did not surprise me, because already I saw it in different counties where I worked in Africa.
“You have some people in Africa who [believe in] juju or witchcraft, or they go to see some people to see magic, or pay people to do things,” the Croat noted. “I already saw a few things, I already had some experiences because I saw that some club officials paid people to do things, I’m not unfamiliar [with it].”
Earlier this week, the Confederation of African Football confirmed to Goal that they were taking the matter seriously and that they would dish out sanctions to Cameroon if the hosts were found guilty of any wrong-doing.
However, Logarusic insists that he has not made a big deal about the attempted intimidation, has made no formal complain to Caf, and hasn’t discussed the incident with local journalists.
CHAN 2021 opener in Yaoundé overshadowed by pre-match accusations of witchcraft from the hosts by Zimbabwe coach Logarusic after a bat carcass is found on the pitch
— Ed Dove (@EddyDove) January 16, 2021
Complete coincidence or foul play?#CHAN2021 #CMRZIM pic.twitter.com/TjaJA1YFLV