Jamie Carragher he previously suggested that according to him African Cup of Nation doesn’t have high value.
Carragher was then attacked by different people for his comments and later on he apologized for his actions.
He apologized lived yesterday after the match of UEFA Champions League where he highlighted that he didn’t mean any disrespect.
Carragher said “I love debates, but what I would never want to be described as a pundit is ignorant and disrespectful. It was never my aim, whether it’s a team, a player, a continent or a tournament.
“Where I would say I got it wrong is I was clumsy with my language in describing AFCON as not a major tournament.
“I was trying to explain the merits of Mo Salah winning the Ballon d’Or, and I felt, not just AFCON, the Asian Cup or the Gold Cup. There are five major tournaments besides the World Cup for each continent.
“However, some of them don’t resonate with the people who vote for the Ballon d’Or, and that’s not an opinion; it’s a fact. Look at those who’ve won the award over the last 40-50 years.”
Former Liverpool defender went on to show his support towards Egyptian Captain and suggested that he should have been careful with his statement.
Carragher said “I’ve been rooting for Mo Salah to be the first African player to win the Ballon d’Or since George Weah in the mid 90’s, but I should have been a lot tidier with my language around it, but if you look at where the Euros are right now, it resonates with some of the journalists, national coaches and captains who choose who wins the award.”
On his conclusion Carragher underlined how the process has been used and why it is difficult for African player to be crowned the trophy.
He said “One of the reasons is that we forget that the Ballon d’Or was primarily for European football, so maybe there is a bias to European football. It was not my aim to offend anybody.”
BY LUCKY SEANEGO
