Following his reaction to Samuel Eto'o's comments ahead of Cameroon and Egypt's semi-final clash, Carlos Queiroz has once again addressed the former Barcelona forward, while he also remarked on the Egyptian Football Association's objection to the referee appointment for the game.
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On Wednesday, the Portuguese tactician seemed to respond angrily to recent comments from Eto'o that were reportedly made in the Cameroon dressing room following their win over Gambia in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final stage.
In a speech to the players, the president of the Cameroonian Football Federation said their semi-final against Egypt would be like "war", remarks that were unappreciated by Queiroz, who urged the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to intervene.
"It was a very, very unfortunate comment because football is not about war, it's about celebration, joy and happiness," he said.
The former Manchester United assistant boss has since readdressed the situation with a seemingly less abrasive approach, saying all he was trying to say was that Eto'o should have been more careful with his choice of words.
"Eto'o is not only a local hero but an international one in the world of football and I love him very much. There are special stories between us, and I did everything to bring him back to Real Madrid when I was a coach there," he said, according to KingFut.
"My point of view is that these days, during a pandemic, we must be careful with our words. This is football, we win or we learn.
"I don't use the word lose, we need to remove words like death, war and fear because there are already many problems in the world. Those words were brought from the outside world to football and they have nothing to do with the game.
"I have great respect and love for Samuel Eto'o."
Ahead of the last-four tie, the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) said they had launched a formal request to CAF to reconsider their refereeing appointment of Bakary Gassama for the game, with EFA member Ehab El-Komy saying South African official Victor Gomes was more suited to the job.
Queiroz, however, claimed to have no knowledge of the complaint.
"I don't know anything about the Egyptian Football Association's objection to Bakary Gassama's appointment as referee of the match. This is the first time I hear about this matter," he added.
Here are all the stadiums that have hosted the tournament in Cameroon:
