Ex-Arsenal star Ian Wright has condemned what he called “negative coverage” of the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) by journalists and other football stakeholders in Europe.

Mr Wright speaking on his Instagram live broadcast says the coverage of the African tournament is tinged with racism and disrespect especially with the kind of questions asked.

“Is there ever a tournament more disrespected than the Africa Cup of Nations? There is no greater honour, none as a sports person than representing your country. The coverage is completely tinged with racism,” he said.

Mr Wright’s criticisms come on the back various denigrating statements against the AFCON.

A journalist had asked Ajax striker Sebastien Haller if he would leave the Dutch league for the African championship to to which Haller angrily rebuffed: “This shows disrespect for Africa.

“Would this [question] ever have been asked to a European player towards a European Championship? Of course, I will go to represent Ivory Coast. That is the highest honour.”

Mr Wright agrees with Haller noting that “I have got to give a shout out to the players like Sebastien Haller who are taking a stand against the media backlash, plus Patrick Vieira for coming out and speaking about this. This is why it is important to have a black manager who can let people understand where his roots are and how important this tournament is for African people.”

Crystal Palace manager Patrick Viera on Tuesday said the African mundial “needs to be more respected – because this competition is as important as the European Championships.”

The former France captain, who was born of Gabonese father in Dakar, Senegal, is set to lose four of his key players to AFCON. But he says would not stop any player from representing their country because he understands the passion that comes with it.

Many European clubs are reluctant to release their African stars national leagues enter a critical mid-season with teams facing personnel shortages due to injuries and the virus.

But Mr Wright said there can be no fair excuse to deny players from honouring AFCON.
“We played our Euros across 10 countries in the middle of a pandemic and there’s no issue at all. But Cameroon, a single country hosting a tournament, is a problem.

“Players getting asked if they will be honouring the call-ups to their national teams. Imagine if that was an England player representing the Three Lions.  Have you ever heard anybody ask an English player if they would be honouring a call-up,” he said.

The football authorities have come under much pressure to call off the AFCON beginning on January 9 but CAF has held its grounds in spite of concerns about new wave of COVID-19 sparked by the Omicron variants.

Mr Wright added that African players should shown as much love as they are given doing exploits for their clubs when they go to represent their countries.

“Loads of the best players in Europe right now are African. If we love them at the club level why can’t we love them at the international level like their counterparts across the globe? Why is this tournament constantly getting so much flak?

“I want to wish Cameroon every success in hosting this tournament and all the very best to the players and the fans,” he said.