Gabon bans Aubameyang, suspends national team after poor performance at AFCON

Gabon’s government has taken drastic measures against the country’s national football team following a disastrous outing at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), announcing the suspension of the Panthers, the dismissal of the entire coaching staff, and the banning of senior players Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Bruno Ecuele Manga.

The announcement was made late Wednesday by the country’s Minister of Sports, Simplice-Desire Mamboula, in a televised address aired on Gabonese television.

“Given the Panthers’ disgraceful performance at the AFCON, the government has decided to dissolve the technical staff, suspend the national team until further notice, and remove players Bruno Ecuele Manga and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang,” the minister said.

The decision followed Gabon’s 3-2 defeat to defending champions Ivory Coast, sealed by a dramatic injury-time winner from Bazoumana Toure on Wednesday night.

The loss marked Gabon’s third consecutive defeat in Group F, leaving the Panthers bottom of the group behind Ivory Coast, Cameroon and Mozambique.

Earlier, a shock 3-2 loss to 102nd-ranked Mozambique on Sunday had already ended Gabon’s hopes of progressing to the knockout stage, prompting an emergency review of the team’s performance by the country’s Council of Ministers.

Aubameyang, Gabon’s most high-profile footballer, returned to his French club Marseille after the Mozambique defeat, citing a thigh injury.

Gabonese President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema also weighed in on the crisis, describing the team’s AFCON showing as a blow to national pride.

“This has weakened part of our national identity,” the president said in an official statement released on Wednesday.

He identified what he described as a lack of structure and poor management as key problems plaguing Gabonese football.

“The national team highlights two major problems: the lack of method and the dispersion of resources,” he added, while promising “strong and structural decisions” to restore discipline, responsibility and ambition in national sports administration.

However, the government’s intervention could expose Gabon to sanctions from FIFA, which strictly prohibits political interference in the affairs of national football associations.

Shortly after the minister’s announcement was aired, the video clip was briefly removed from official government platforms and the broadcaster’s online channels, before being reposted on Thursday, fuelling further controversy.

The situation places Gabonese football at a crossroads, as authorities attempt to rebuild after one of the country’s worst AFCON campaigns in recent history.

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