“You don’t see Sadio Mane washing his own underpants” - Malawi coach Mario Marinica claims smaller countries are being 'treated differently' at the Africa Cup of Nations

Sadio Mane scored in Senegal's 2-0 win against Cabo Verde in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations on Wednesday night. It sent them through to the quarter-finals of the African tournament.

Malawi, on the other hand, lost 2-1 to Morocco in the other Round of 16 encounter. Malawi head coach Mario Marinica was understandably upset with the defeat which has seen them get knocked out of AFCON.

He took a dig at the preferential treatment given to players from the bigger nations. Marinica said:

“You wouldn’t see Sadio Mane washing his own underpants and hanging them on a bush to dry. Gambia have the same problem, and there are different standards here, teams are being treated differently.”

He added:

“We talk about inclusion, we want to have minnows, small teams doing fantastic things, but when it comes to the latter stages, people don’t fancy us playing against Cape Verde and not Senegal playing Morocco. Certain questions have to be asked; why are these things happening to us, why only to the smaller teams, why only to Comoros, Gambia, us?”

The Malawi coach added that he has officially registered his complaints and hopes to see a change in the future.

“I’ve asked my fellow colleagues and team leaders to lodge a formal complaint. I complained to the managers of the estate, and at the current [hotel] we struggled for three days before things were sorted out. I couldn’t have milk for coffee, they said the milk was finished until tomorrow.”

Marinica concluded:

“We are treated like second-class citizens, but if you’re a hotel manager and you see this happening, you take charge, you can’t allow it in this day and age, at this level of competition.”

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Sadio Mane might face his Liverpool teammate Mo Salah in the final

Sadio Mane helped Senegal seal a spot in the last eight, scoring two goals at AFCON 2021. Mane's Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah is also a part of the tournament, playing for Egypt.

Salah scored the winning spot-kick in a penalty shootout for the Pharaohs last night against Ivory Coast with the game ending 0-0 after extra-time. Consequently, Mane might be in line to meet his Liverpool strike partner in the final of AFCON 2021.