CAF urges action from UEFA over Napoli president De Laurentiis' AFCON comments
Baku, August 8, AZERTAC
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has called on UEFA to take disciplinary action against Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis over his controversial comments regarding African players, according to ESPN.
De Laurentiis said last week he would not sign any more African players unless they agreed "to sign a waiver" to not take part in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
"CAF is appalled by the irresponsible and unacceptable remarks made by Napoli President, Mr Aurelio De Laurentiis on African players and the Africa Cup of Nations," CAF said in a statement.
"By publicly declaring that players who sign for Napoli must sign a waiver denouncing participation in the Africa Cup of Nations as a condition of employment, De Laurentiis' comments [are] likely to fall under Article 14 of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulation. CAF therefore urges UEFA to initiate disciplinary investigation against him."
CAF stressed the importance of AFCON and how it has grown as a tournament over the years.
"CAF is committed to the role that football plays in Africa, Europe, North and South America, Asia and globally of bringing together and uniting people of different cultures, language groups, races, ethnic groups and religious backgrounds," it said.
"The African Cup of Nations is the flagship competition of the African continent and one of the leading global football competitions. Its last edition in Cameroon was shown in more than 160 countries and attracted more than 600 million viewers."
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