Cameroonian soccer player Samuel Eto’o has resumed playing for his Turkish club Antalyaspor after being suspended for a week for accusing the club’s management of racism, according to BBC. The club decided to suspend him on September 21st after he reportedly posted a controversial post on social media criticizing his boss.
In part of his Instagram post written in Turkish, Eto’o pointed out that “perhaps some people do not feel respect for me because I am black,” alongside a Wikipedia screenshot of his playing record.
The club lifted the suspension over the weekend to allow him to play against Galatasaray on Sunday but warned him over his future conduct. Before the post, Antalyaspor’s chairman Safak Ozturk reportedly criticized Eto’o, saying that “no player is above the interests of Antalyaspor” and that “everyone must know their place.”
The club lifted the suspension over the weekend to allow him to play against Galatasaray on Sunday but warned him over his future conduct. Before the post, Antalyaspor’s chairman Safak Ozturk reportedly criticized Eto’o, saying that “no player is above the interests of Antalyaspor” and that “everyone must know their place.”
The club lifted the suspension over the weekend to allow him to play against Galatasaray on Sunday but warned him over his future conduct.
Before the post, Antalyaspor’s chairman Safak Ozturk reportedly criticized Eto’o, saying that “no player is above the interests of Antalyaspor” and that “everyone must know their place.”
But in a quick response, Eto’o denied claims that his racism comments were directed at his chairman, saying that Ozturk is his “brother” and that Turkish people had supported him “wholeheartedly.”
“My message was to a person who criticized me unjustly for years and while he continued his criticisms, I kept winning trophies,” Eto’o wrote in a second Instagram post.
The three-time Champions League winner has been training separately throughout his suspension.
Eto’o joined Antalyaspor in June last year, but his stay at the club has been marred by uncertainty since August this year following rumors that he could be moving to Besiktas at the close of the season.
Before joining Antalyaspor, the four-time African Footballer of the Year played for several big English and European clubs, such as Chelsea, Everton, Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Inter Milan.
He has won many trophies and titles during his professional career and he is the leading all-time scorer in the African Nations Cup with 18 goals.
In Cameroon, 35-year-old Eto’o is the country’s 54-goal all-time leading scorer and has won back-to-back African Cup of Nations in 2000 and 2002. He is considered the most decorated African player of all time.
