Andre Onana, goalkeeper for Manchester United, decided to stay later than expected, which caused him to miss Cameroon’s Africa Cup of Nations opener. Sebastien Bassong criticized Onana for “sending a bad message” and for being a fellow countryman.

In their pursuit of continental success, his country has re-invited the goalie, who had lately retired from international play. United wаnted Onana to stay for Sunday’s match against Tottenham, so they were in talks with his national team to try to postpone his departure.

It would have resulted in a tight turnaround, since Cameroon started their AFCON campaign against Guinea less than 24 hours after that. We had originally planned for him to play in the first game, but Onana has changed his mind and will instead play for United rather than make a hasty trip to Africa.

Bassong, who has 15 caps for his nation, thinks Onana’s choice will add to the disrespect that AFCON is already facing. Not only does it reflect poorly on Cameroon, but it also casts doubt on the dignity of the Africa Cup of Nations, on how others should regard us, and on the importance of equality, as he said to the BBC.

No one will treat us with any dignity if we don’t treat ourselves with respect. While I have Andre’s back no matter what, when things like that occur, it becomes clear that a single individual is no longer worthy of representing the country, the continent, or the nation’s pride.

Despite the controversy, Cameroon football chief Samuel Eto’o has defended Onana’s choice. Mohamed Salah was one of several top players to depart his club at the scheduled time to begin national team preparations for the competition.

If Guinea, Senegal, and Gambia advance from their group, Onana may be able to make it back to United games without missing a beаt. Cameroon are in their group. If the goalkeeper could recover in that amount of time, United would have enough time to prepare for their fourth-round FA Cup away match against Eastleigh or Newport County.

The summer signing joined his national team at the eleventh hour mostly because he was afraid Erik ten Hag would bench him in favor of Altay Bayindir of Turkey. Since leaving Inter Milan, Onana’s form has declined, and he has no intention of giving his replacement any playing time.