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“The best ones for me are Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané, but they are not here,” declared Samuel Eto’o this week after the two Liverpool strikers missed out on Fifa’s top awards in Milan, Italy.
I couldn’t agree more with the legendary Cameroonian striker – Salah and Mané were the best last year and deserved recognition as Europe’s standout players.
If this had happened in South Africa, I’d be calling for a commission of inquiry to get to the bottom of this injustice. In fact, I think if Fifa is serious about cleaning up its image, it should launch an investigation into this. If they don’t know how commissions work, I’m sure South Africa will be happy to lend a hand.
Eto’o nailed it by saying – without fear, favour or prejudice – how he felt about the two players being snubbed. However, why is he the lone voice? Where are the other voices to support Eto’o and condemn this travesty of justice?
What happened to Salah and Mané is despicable and it hurts as the two played their socks off to be where they are today.
But, as poet John Lydgate, said: “You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all the people all of the time.”
The latest Fifa awards have divided opinion. If anything, they once again demonstrated what a joke of a contest they have become. The awards are not a true reflection of what is happening on the field, but rather a commercialisation of the game.
Fifa must revisit the voting system. Why on earth Salah and Mané were not even considered for the best XI is beyond my comprehension. I mean, the two carried Liverpool to the Uefa Champions League triumph, but their efforts were not recognised, but some players who were nowhere to be seen in the latter part of the tournament still made it on to the list.
Is it because Salah and Mané are Africans and therefore they are not good enough? I have to ask this because there can be no other reason for their exclusion in both the top player shortlist and the best 11 team category.
Not having a single African player on the list of the best players in the world is a joke and an insult to us. For a long time, African players have been marginalised and it’s about time we stood up and showed some unity in fighting for what is right. This can’t go unchallenged. What more should Africans do to prove our worth? We are not respected.
But who is to blame for this? We can point fingers at Fifa as much as we want, but Fifa didn’t vote. Instead, national team coaches and captains were the ones who cast their votes and chose Lionel Messi over Virgil van Dijk and Cristiano Ronaldo, while Salah and Mané did not even make the short list.
It would be interesting to know who the 54 African countries’ coaches voted for and their reasons. But with most countries preferring European coaches, it should actually not come as a surprise if they voted for their compatriots instead of the Africans they coach.
But it is surprising that many football fans only saw this at the awards ceremony on Monday, even though the short list was released some time ago.
Were people not aware that these two African stars did not feature at all, or were they just ignorant? They should have voiced their dissatisfaction then and made noise when the three shortlisted players were announced, not after the winner was announced.
But football will always divide opinions, which is why it is called a game of opinions. There’s hardly ever a decision that is accepted by everyone.
Those who serve at the Fifa headquarters should stand up, like Eto’o did, and be counted. They mustn’t forget why they are there – to represent Africa and make sure our voices are heard.
As soon as they ascend to the world football governing body’s highest office in Zurich, the African representatives quickly forget where they come from and are only there to serve their own interests.
There is a bigger fight on our hands as Africans and the sooner we stand together and fight as one, the better our chances of not only being heard, but also being victorious. It is in our hands and we can do it.
- Follow me on Twitter @TimSpirit
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