Mario Marinica says the AFCON organizers treat teams from smaller nations as ‘second-class citizens’.
Malawi crashed out of the Africa Cup of Nations after a 2-1 defeat against Morocco on Tuesday. It came after a surprising group-stage run that saw the east African nation reaching the tournament’s last-16 round.
In an interview before the game, Malawi boss Mario Marinica criticized the AFCON organizers for their handling of the tournament. The 57-year-old revealed his side had received significantly less service during their stay in Cameroon compared to bigger nations.
The manager said (via Daily Mail): “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?”
He added: “I couldn’t have milk for coffee, they said we don’t have milk 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.”
As of now, CAF has not responded to Marinica’s claims.
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