Africa-Press – Eritrea. Sierra Leone captain Umaru Bangura said supporters will “torture you and vandalise your properties” if you miss a penalty for the Leone Stars.
Forward Kei Kamara’s house was recently targeted after he missed a penalty for Sierra Leone against Equatorial Guinea at the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.
His side lost the match 1-0 in Limbe when a draw would have seen them reach the knockout stages. “Most of the boys have told me they’re now scared of taking penalties because of what has happened to two senior players in the team, myself and Kei Kamara,” Bangura told BBC Sport Africa. Kamara’s house has been under police protection since January 21.
Bangura saw his house targeted after missing a decisive stoppage-time spot-kick in a 2022 World Cup qualifier in September 2019.
It meant Sierra Leone failed to get through to the next stage of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers. “I backed off from taking penalties for Leone Stars because it’s a matter of life and death for Sierra Leoneans,” said the 36-year-old who handed over penalty duties to Kamara after his miss.
“Nobody is 100 percent sure of scoring a penalty, so why would you step forward to take a penalty when you know that if you miss you are going to get hurt by your people?
“It’s normal for a player to miss a penalty, (Riyad) Mahrez, (Lionel) Messi and other big stars have missed penalties. (Franck) Kessie, who always scores a penalty for his club, missed against us when we played against Ivory Coast.”
Meanwhile, Sierra Leone boss John Keister said “people didn’t appreciate” his side’s achievement in reaching the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.
Reflecting on the Leone Stars’ group-stage exit, a tearful Keister told BBC Africa: “I think as a country, with the group that I have, we over-achieved in a short space of time. “I worked so hard, but I found myself in an environment where I don’t think people appreciate that.”
The former Walsall defender led Sierra Leone to their first Nations Cup appearance in 26 years. After group-stage draws with holders Algeria and two-time winners Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, ranked 108th in the world, needed just a point against Equatorial Guinea to reach the last 16.
But Keister’s side fell short, losing 1-0 with veteran striker Kei Kamara seeing an 84th-minute penalty saved by Jesus Owono. “It wasn’t meant to be” added the 51-year-old. “Expectations became very high. We achieved too early, but it’s a good problem that we have to deal with.”
Looking ahead to the next Afcon tournament in Ivory Coast in 2023, Keister added: “Our focus has to be grassroots, our focus has to be development.
“If we don’t get it right down there, we are not getting it into the national team.”
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