Six coaches sacked, one hospitalised, one cops eight-game ban in wild AFCON mayhem
When it comes to coaching drama, the African Cup of Nations is pure mayhem.
This year’s tournament has been no different.
Host nation Ivory Coast sacked their coach Jean-Louis Gasset after a 4-0 defeat against Equatorial Guinea in the group stage – their heaviest-ever home defeat.
The hosts were on the brink of an ugly group-stage exit after two losses from three matches, before sneaking into the knockout stages as one of the best third-placed teams. And under interim coach Emerse Fae, they’ve pulled off an astonishing turnaround.
They beat reigning champions Senegal in the last 16 despite being a man down following a first-half red card, equalising late in normal time before progressing on penalties.
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Then in the quarter-final, they overcame neighbouring nation Mali 2-1 with an extra-time goal.
“After Equatorial Guinea we were at the bottom of a hole. We had to wait and hope that we would qualify, which happened, and now we are not afraid of anything,” said midfielder Seko Fofana.
Now they’ll face Democratic Republic of Congo in the final four.
Gasset wasn’t the first coach to be sacked this tournament – nor was he the last.
Ghana coach Chris Hughton was the first to go after two draws and a loss saw his Black Stars dumped out in the group stage.
Tanzania coach Adel Amrouche was handed an eight-match suspension and a US $10,000 fine by the African Football Confederation (CAF) after comments he made about Morocco in a pre-tournament interview, where he claimed the nation’s football federation had undue influence over African football.
He said: “The Morocco federation is a proven power in the world of African football. Morocco manages African football. They also choose their referees and we
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