‘You wouldn’t see Mane washing his own underpants’ – Malawi boss fumes at Afcon chiefs over treatment of ‘small’ nations
MALAWI boss Mario Marinica has taken a swipe at Afcon bosses… as his team have to wash their own pants.
The Romanian, 57, is in interim charge of the Malawi national team in Cameroon.
He revealed that his own team have had to do their own laundry at the tournament, while ‘bigger’ nations get preferential treatment.
He said: “You wouldn’t see Sadio Mane washing his own underpants and hanging them on a bush to dry.
“Gambia have the same problem, and there are different standards here, teams are being treated differently.
“We talk about inclusion, we want to have minnows, small teams doing fantastic things, but when it comes to the latter stages, people don’t fancy us playing against Cape Verde and not Senegal playing Morocco.
“Certain questions have to be asked; why are these things happening to us, why only to the smaller teams, why only to Comoros, Gambia, us?”
Malawi upset the odds to reach the last 16 in Cameroon, beating Zimbabwe before grabbing a cherished 0-0 draw with Mane’s Senegal.
Most read in Football
BETTING SPECIAL – GET £40 IN FREE BETS ON THE AFCON
Their journey came to an end yesterday with a narrow 2-1 defeat by Morocco.
But Marinica has followed through with his gripes, hoping that things will change for smaller nations in future.
He added: “I’ve asked my fellow colleagues and team leaders to lodge a formal complaint.
“I complained to the managers of the estate, and at the current [hotel] we struggled for three days before things were sorted out.
“I couldn’t have milk for coffee, they said the milk was finished until tomorrow.
“We are treated like second-class citizens, but if you’re a hotel manager and you see this happening, you take charge, you can’t allow it in this day and age, at this level of competition.”
Meanwhile at Afcon, Senegal star Mane was involved in controversy during his side’s 2-0 win over Cape Verde.
The Liverpool forward took a heavy blow to the head early in the second half but was somehow allowed to continue despite appearing to suffer a concussion.
Mane, 29, went on to score his side’s opener, before having to be rushed to hospital after the game.
Senegal boss Aliou Cisse said: “He felt faint, his head was spinning and he had to go there.”
Read our Transfer News Live blog for the very latest rumours, gossip and done deals