Football: Wenger on the African Cup of Nations

Arsene Wenger has expressed concerns that the calls from club managers for the cancellation of the African Cup of Nations, and for the tournament’s European based players to return home, following Friday's attack on the Togolese national side, may be influenced by self-interest on the part of their clubs.

Wenger told The Telegraph:

"Behind things like that, is it a selfish motivation or is it a real issue over security? We, here, are not in the best position to judge the security of this competition.”

Although no-one would suggest that the managers of clubs like Hull and Bolton are not concerned about their players, they also stand to benefit from any withdrawals, as they are battling relegation. The tournament is unpopular with European clubs, taking players away at a critical time during the season.

Wenger coached Togolese striker Emmanuel Adebayor at Arsenal

Wenger, who also has players at the tournament, makes the point that it is for those on the inside to judge the best course of action:

“If you organise the European Championship and you have an incident like that — it can happen and has happened — you do not want all your players suddenly to move home. When you hear sometimes there’s unrest in the suburbs of London, you still live well in London. When I speak to my friends in France, they ask me: 'Is a revolution happening in London?’ It’s the same in Paris. You immediately think it’s a revolution everywhere. It’s not always the case. You have to judge the place, whether the competition can go on or not, and I don’t know enough about the situation.”

Whatever the rights and the wrongs of continuing with the tournament, those decisions should be left to the players and administrators in Africa. Although it may be well-intentioned, any advice from European clubs is best taken with a pinch of salt, given their self-interest, difficult relationship with international football, and a dismissive view of non-European international football.

When he makes observations like these, Wenger comes across as an intelligent and calm man with a strong sense of perspective – the man he is generally held to be in private. Such a shame then, that he has often been responsible for some less dignified outbursts and bouts of partisanship.