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                        Friday, 4 February, 2000, 14:58 GMT
            Ivorian players threatened with military service

The "Elephants" were eliminated after three matches


Ivory Coast's military leader has denounced the national soccer team
for playing badly and threatened them with military service if they
play badly again.

The Ivorian national team were held for three days in a military camp
after being eliminated in the first round of the African Cup of Nations,
before being taken to Abidjan on Thursday night for a dressing down
from General Robert Guei.

"I asked that you be taken there so you could reflect a while. You
behaved unworthily. You should have avoided us such shame," General
Guei was quoted as saying by the Fraternite Matin newspaper.

The players, many on lucrative contracts with European clubs, were
shown on state-controlled Ivorian television being forced to conduct
military marches and receive lectures on discipline during their
detention.

"Next time you will stay there for military service. You will be sent
to the barracks until a sense of civic pride gets into your heads,"
the general said..

General Guei, who came to power in a coup on Christmas Eve, said the
country's sacrifice in giving the Elephants, as the team is called,
thousands of dollars had been wasted.


                                Expatriate players

The BBC correspondent in Abidjan says the bizarre case of an incarcerated
national football team reveals how seriously the sport is sometimes taken
in Africa.

The Ivory Coast squad is made up mainly of players based in Europe who
return home to represent their country during international fixtures.

These expatriate Ivorians, like many other African football stars who
have sought to earn a good living abroad, are treated at home with a
mixture of hero-worship and jealousy.

Our correspondent says some of the players looked tired and angry when
they were released from the military camp.

They are now expected to return to their various European clubs in the
next few days but after their experience, many of them may now think
twice before returning home to play for their country.

A player for the French club, Marseille, said he could not wait to
return to France.


                        Damage to African football

Football clubs in Europe have expressed concern over the fate of
their players and the President of the International Football
Federation (Fifa), Sepp Blatter, contacted Ivory Coast's military
authorities to try to find out about the players.

"Detaining a team because it failed to qualify for the next round
of a football competition is a blatant violation of the autonomy
of the football association as well as the fair play principle," Mr
Blatter said in a statement.

Ivory Coast were eliminated from the tournament after three first
round matches.

They beat Ghana by a respectable 2-0, but only managed a draw against
the much smaller state of Togo and were then thrashed 3-0 by Cameroon,
one of the best teams on the continent.


                        -- THE BBC ONLINE NEWS --

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