Following Jamie Carragher's dismissive comments about the Africa Cup Of Nations, another former Premier League player has made a shocking claim that the AFCON is not a major tournament unless you are residing in the continent.
Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher caused a stir when he suggested that AFCON was not considered a "major tournament".
The former Liverpool star's comments appeared to irked fellow pundits Micah Richards and Daniel Sturridge, who vehemently defended the tournament.
After receiving a wave of backlash, Carragher has since clarified his opinion stating that he was just the opinion that Salah has to win the Champions League in order to win the Ballon d'Or because AFCON is not recognised by voters as a "major tournament".
However, former Newcastle United and Manchester City star Joey Barton has now shared his verdict on the topic, indicating that the competition is not a major one to everyone.
"AFCON isn't a major tournament unless you're brown and/or from Africa," the former QPR player said on X.
"Stop trying to gaslight people. It's not 'Racism' it's just 'Facts'."
Barton went on to claim that the state of the pitches and off-pitch scandals has tarnished the image of the tournament.
"The Africa Cup of Nations isn't a major championship. Copa America, the European Championship, and the World Cup are your major international tournaments. Unfortunately, AFCON isn't one of them," he stated.
"Don't get me started on the quality of pitches and some of the attendances, but also the accusations of bribery over the years.
"Apart from the African countries, it doesn't capture the world's imagination like some of the other major tournaments do.
Joey speaks on the Jamie Carragher/AFCON incident…@Joey7Barton pic.twitter.com/v8qObofQlA
— Common Sense with Joey Barton (@Common_SensePod) February 25, 2025
"And people forget that in 2010, the Togo team bus was attacked, and I think Emmanuel Adebayor was on it. Sadly, some people lost their lives. These are things you just don't see at major tournaments.
"The biggest one for me was in 2021-22 when a referee, who must have bought his watch from a street vendor, stopped a game in the 85th minute, restarted it, then stopped it again at the 89th minute — well short of the allotted time — and then tried to get the players back on the pitch. It was Tunisia on that occasion.
"You just don't see things like that at major championships.
"You've also had Ebola outbreaks, like when Morocco pulled out in 2015. There was also fan violence that year, causing a game to be abandoned and restarted later.
