An obscure FIFA regulation may prevent ANDRE ONANA from representing Manchester United.
The United starting striker will likely join Cameroon in the January Africa Cup of Nations.
He left the national team at last year’s World Cup and never returned, but he patched things up with manager Rigobert Song and is again back on the squad.
On the other hand, Onana may want to skip Afcon in order to concentrate on United; his performance has declined since he joined the club.
In their 3-3 draw against Galatasaray, he committed a mistake that gave the Turkish team a chance to equalize.
The goalkeeper faces the possibility of a ban from Fifa if he refuses to play for the Red Devils in response to Cameroon’s demands.
“Unless otherwise agreed by the relevant association, a player who has been called up by his association for one of its representative teams is not entitled to play for the club with which he is registered during the period for which he has been released or should have been released pursuant to the provisions of this annex, plus an additional period of five days,” formally states Fifa’s policy.
Although he hasn’t played for Cameroon since 2015, Liverpool defender Joel Matip escaped a punishment for not representing his nation in the 2017 and 2020 African Cup of Nations.
From January 13th through February 11th, Onana may sit out six United matches due to the African Cup of Nations.
The goalkeeper hasn’t been great since his summer transfer, and Premier League great Ruud Gullit thinks Erik ten Hag needs to start testing him more frequently.
That these are terrible blunders is something he acknowledged, he added. When he and his goalkeeper have a private conversation, he will demand to know: what the fuck are you doing?
You never know when he might have to decide. You should instill as much trust in your goalkeeper as possible, but that’s not always possible.
Get out of there not right away after making a mistake. Goalkeepers make things difficult. His predicament was precarious.
“He saved them once but I feel for him I know he’s a good goalkeeper but he cost them a lot of games.”
