‘Of course I will go… I hate choosing between club and country’: Furious Sebastien Haller slams the ‘disrespect’ shown to the Africa Cup of Nations after being asked if he will pick the Ivory Coast over Ajax in January
- Sebastien Haller will head to AFCON next month with the Ivory Coast
- The striker has been in blistering form since joining Ajax from West Ham
- Haller was offended when asked if he would pick his nation over Ajax next month
Ajax star Sebastien Haller has hit out at what he believes is a widespread disrespect in football for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
The former West Ham man is one of the many stars across Europe’s top divisions who will be heading to Cameroon next month for the showpiece tournament, when he joins up with the Ivory Coast squad.
But with many players being forced to leave their clubs at a pivotal part of the season, in-form Haller reacted strongly when asked by Dutch media whether he would be choosing to answer the call of his country.
Ajax star Sebastien Haller has hit out at what he believes is disrespect towards AFCON
‘This question shows the disrespect for Africa,’ he told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf.
‘Would this question ever get asked to a European player ahead of the EUROs? Of course I am going to the Africa Cup [of Nations].
‘This tournament was actually supposed to be held in the summer, but was postponed due to Covid.
‘Of course I will go to the Africa Cup to represent Ivory Coast. That is the highest honour.’
Haller (right, celebrating with Serge Aurier) insisted that competing in AFCON is an honour
Haller went on to outline that the manner in which African players are made to choose between their club and their country with such high stakes at both ends is simply unjust.
He added: ‘I hate having to choose between my country and my club,” he said.
‘That’s really s***. Of course I would have liked to have taken the plane in between to be able to play against FC Utrecht and PSV, but that is simply impossible.
‘This situation is very frustrating. I hate having to choose between my country and my club. That’s really s***.
‘I play with Ajax for the title and those two matches are very important, because they influence the ranking.’
Haller has been in majestic form ever since leaving West Ham and signing for Ajax