Propos polémiques : Le coach du Mali, Tom Saintfiet, apporte des précisions
Eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations Morocco-2025, after their defeat against Senegal (0-1), Mali leaves the competition with regrets, but also with the feeling of having delivered a courageous performance.
In the post-match press conference, the Eagles' coach, Tom Saintfiet, wanted to clarify some of his statements and pay tribute to the opponent.
"First of all, I congratulate Senegal on qualifying for the semi-finals," the Belgian coach declared, praising the Lions' performance.
Returning to his comments from the previous day, Tom Saintfiet wanted to clear up any ambiguity. "I would like to go back to what I said yesterday at the press conference. I was talking about Senegal's journey. I meant that they played against teams that were weaker than those that Mali faced," he clarified.
The Malian coach insisted that his words had been taken out of context and also pointed out his limited command of French. "We played against Morocco and Tunisia, and for me, they are stronger opponents than those Senegal has faced. I never said they are stronger than Senegal," he emphasized, expressing regret over certain media interpretations. "When someone writes something, everyone just copies and pastes it," he added.
Tom Saintfiet was keen to reiterate the respect he has for the 2021 African champions. "I clearly stated yesterday that Senegal is one of the greatest teams in Africa, and we saw that today," he concluded.
Commentaires (16)
D'abord, je trouve dérangeant cette idée de choix d'entraineur basée sur la couleur de la peau. Seule la compétence doit primer. Qu'importe la couleur et les origines ! Ceux qui font notre fierté dans cette équipe évoluent tous chez les blancs, sont formés chez les blancs pour la plupart. Aussi, les entraineurs sont formés chez les blancs, Aliou Cissé, Pape Thiaw et les autres Beye, Daff.... Ensuite, concernant ce monsieur, il est gambien et est très fier de le dire. Et je trouve qu'il fait un bon travail avec le Mali qui n'était pas du tout attendu à ce stade de la compétition. J'espère qu'on le laisse continuer.
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