Former Arsenal and England striker Ian Wright has criticised European media outlets for their coverage of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), saying that the coverage of Europe-based African football players travelling to play the tournament is “disrespectful” and “tinged with racism.”

The AFCON, hosted by Cameroon this time, is set to commence on January 9, 2022, and will continue till February 6. Dozens of African players are in the first teams of several top European clubs, and clubs will have to manage without their contributions for the duration of the international tournament. The Premier League alone will see around 40 African players depart to play the AFCON, while other European leagues will also see several departures. Given this situation, several African players have been asked by media outlets about whether they will travel to play the tournament, and this type of coverage has not gone down well with many.

Voicing his disgust, Wright, in a video posted on Instagram, said that that European media outlets were making an issue out of players being released for the international tournament, and contrasted it with the coverage of the Euro 2020, which was played during a pandemic and drew no marked criticism.

“Is there ever a tournament more disrespected than the Africa Cup of Nations? There is no greater honour than representing your country. The coverage is completely tinged with racism. We played our Euros across 10 countries in the middle of a pandemic and there’s no issue at all. But Cameroon, a single country hosting a tournament, is a problem,” said the former Arsenal player, who now works as a football pundit.

“There are players getting asked if they will be honouring the call-ups to their national teams. Imagine if that was an England player representing the Three Lions. Can you imagine the furore?” continued Wright.

Similar sentiments have been echoed by African players too, with Ajax‘s leading scorer and Ivory Coast striker Sebastien Haller telling the Dutch media that questions about whether African players would travel to represent their country for the tournament “shows the disrespect for Africa.”

In a similar vein, Crystal Palace boss and former FIFA World Cup winner for France Patrick Vieira has also voiced his concerns about the media coverage of the AFCON, saying, “I respect and understand the passion and the importance to players to go and represent their country so I will never stop any player going to play the Africa Cup of Nations. I believe that competition needs to be more respected – because this competition is as important as the European Championships.”

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The criticism of European media coverage comes at a time when racist incidents have marred European football matches time and again, and at a time when efforts are being stepped up to root out racism from the sport once and for all.