AFCON 2015: Claude Le Roy Drops Christopher Maboulou from Congo Squad Over Late Arrival
With just days to go before the submission of final squads for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, Congo national team coach Claude Le Roy has taken a firm stance on discipline, dropping Christopher Maboulou from his provisional squad due to his failure to report for training on time.
In a statement released by the Congolese Football Federation (Fecofoot), the French tactician expressed frustration with Maboulou’s continued absence from the team’s training camp in Saly, near Dakar (Senegal).
“Claude Le Roy has decided to remove Christopher Maboulou from the list of 26 players selected for the Dakar training camp, tired of the procrastination. Summoned to participate in the final preparation phase, Maboulou has still not arrived in Dakar,” the statement read.
The 24-year-old SC Bastia forward, who had been expected to play a key role in Congo’s AFCON campaign, now finds himself out of the competition entirely. According to sources close to the team, this is not the first time Maboulou has displayed unreliability when called up for international duty — a factor believed to have influenced Le Roy’s decision.
The experienced Le Roy, a veteran of several AFCON tournaments and known for his no-nonsense approach, is clearly prioritising unity and professionalism within the squad as Congo prepares to compete in Group A alongside host nation Equatorial Guinea, Burkina Faso, and Gabon.
With the final list of 23 players to be submitted to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) imminently, Le Roy’s swift decision sends a strong message: only committed and disciplined players will make the cut for Congo’s return to the continental stage.
As the Red Devils fine-tune their preparations, the absence of Maboulou opens the door for another player to step up and seize the opportunity to shine on Africa’s biggest football platform.
