Flames coach hits out at Afcon conditions

Flames interim head coach Mario Marinica has hit out at the conditions his team encountered at their Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) hotel camp in Cameroon.

The Romanian was quoted by ESPN as having said that  there is a conscious bias against the “smaller” teams in the competition.

He said this before the Flames’ round of 16 match against Morocco’s Atlas Lions which Malawi lost 2-1 to bow out of the continental showpiece.

Marinica claimed that the team’s preparations  had been affected by food poisoning, a lack of basic commodities, and a dearth of facilities for clothes washing.

The Romanian, whose comments come amid accusations from Gambia about the sub-standard conditions they have encountered, believes that favouritism towards the competition’s bigger teams is leaving the lesser lights at a disadvantage.

“You wouldn’t see Sadio Mane washing his own underpants and hanging them on a bush to dry,” Marinica told ESPN. “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 [for example].

“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 said   while his clothes had been washed, his team had been forced to do their own laundry, while hotel staff at the Hotel Valle de Bana in Bafoussam had also failed to provide the team with basic commodities.

“I’ve asked my fellow colleagues and team leaders to lodge a formal complaint,” Marinica added. “I complained to the managers of the estate, and at the current [hotel] we struggled for three days before things were sorted out.”

Midfielder John Banda also corroborated Marinica’s testimony of the team’s underwhelming treatment in Cameroon, and called on the Confederation of African Football to ensure all teams are treated on an equal footing.

“Our clothes haven’t been washed, it’s true, and we’re facing some problems,” he told ESPN. “It’s unfortunate that we’re being taken as underdogs.

“As Africa, we need to be treated equally, the same as Senegal, Nigeria, all equally. This is a competition, no teams are guaranteed they will win it, and we all need equal treatment and fairness.”