Emilio Nsue (34 years old), captain of the Equatorial Guinea national team and top scorer of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), has been suspended indefinitely by his country’s football federation. The player is said to have committed several serious disciplinary infractions during the tournament, in which he scored five goals in four games. However, the Intercity player, from the Spanish third division club, denied allegations of misconduct and accused the Equatorial Guinea Football Federation of corruption and theft.
Equatorial Guinea performed well in the Africa Cup of Nations. They progressed from Group A, where they faced Ivory Coast and Nigeria, to the knockout stage, where they were defeated by Guinea (Conakry). However, the sporting success was overshadowed by the subsequent suspension of Nsue and midfielder Iván Salvador, who was removed from the national team due to an “unpleasant incident” in Abidjan that required police intervention and delayed the team’s return to Equatorial Guinea. The federation stated that strict measures were taken to maintain discipline and the team’s reputation.
However, the federation did not disclose details about the incidents that led to the suspension of Nsue and Salvador. The “unpleasant incident” is said to have occurred on January 29, a day after Equatorial Guinea’s 0-1 defeat against Guinea, when an argument reportedly erupted over the theft of 500 euros from the hotel where the team was staying.
However, the national team captain, Nsue, took to his Instagram on Thursday night to Friday, refuting all accusations and labeling the officials as corrupt, illiterate, and thieves. He accused the entire federation of corruption, theft, and fraud. As an example, he mentioned that their officials, including their president Venancio Tomás Ndong, had pocketed a one million euro bonus intended for the players during the previous AFCON in Cameroon in 2021.
Nsue also accused the federation of falsifying vaccination cards for this year’s tournament and implicated the team’s physiotherapist, Elias Nzo, in stealing equipment from the national team for personal gain. The former player of Real Sociedad, Middlesbrough, and Birmingham vowed to fight against corruption, stating: “It’s either you or us. We will go all the way. Corrupt, cancerous, and shameless. You only want to place your people everywhere, who don’t work and don’t deserve it. You are a bunch of corrupt, liars, and thieves.”
Among other things, he complained that the players did not have their uniforms ready before the game against Nigeria. “The equipment used by the national team is paid for by the players and not by the federation. The federation threatened some local footballers with the possibility of deducting money from their salaries, but I said that was outrageous and unfair. And they humiliated and fired me because of it. The national team comes above everything and everyone,” Nsue concluded.
