An African international footballer has officially retired from national team duty at 23 years old without making a single appearance after recently being named on the bench for his country.
According to Goal, Liberian striker Mohammed Kamara has decided to hang up his international boots, seemingly following a recent fallout while on duty with his country.
The forward, who represents Hatayspor in Turkey, left Liberia's camp last week without permission after he was set to be named on the bench for a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Nigeria, a match that ended with the Super Eagles beating the Lone Stars 2-0.
Kamara has since taken to social media to reveal that he will not return for international duty, but refused to go into detail about what caused him to make this decision.
"Heard that everyone want to hear my side of the story," he wrote.
"I won't throw anyone under the bus. In my years as a professional and college student, I've learned that respect is a two-way street.
"You just don't demand respect. Rather you have to earn it. After years of turning down the invitation, I blame no one but myself for coming here. I can promise you all that will never happen like ever again. It's officially a wrap! I will be watching and cheering you guys from afar because most of you are my friends."
Liberia manager Peter Butler has explained his version of events since the player's unceremonious exit from the camp last week.
"Mohamed Kamara is a player I really like. I called him and chased him to join the Lone Star squad on many occasions and we managed to get him," he said.
"When he joined the team; I had a chat with him, and everything seemed okay. We had training sessions and a few members of staff and I felt he wasn't ready to be focused, but I was ready to give him the benefit of the doubt. And unfortunately, after I did the team talk prior to the game [against Nigeria], the player in question absconded from the camp because he wasn't in the starting line-up.
"I'm disappointed with Mohammed (Kamara). I thought he did let me down; I think he let the nation down, I think he let himself down, very unprofessional and with no explanation whatsoever. So, we moved on and drew a line and life moves on, and we're spotting more players to play for the Lone Star."
