25/07/2023 and las 06:34 CEST
The appearance was surreal: FIFA veto and a pedantic response from the coach
āWhat do you mean? What you read in the press? Theyāre just rumors. I canāt stay away for no reasonā
Bruce Mwape, the Zambia coach investigated for sexual abuse, appeared before the media at the mandatory press conference prior to the second match of the World Cup, precisely against Spain. A press conference that was surreal, with a veto from FIFA and a pedantic response from the coach.
After several questions from international and Spanish media, the compaƱera Sandra S. Riquelme He opened the ban on the questions that really mattered to those present in the press room at Eden Park in Auckland. āTaking into account the great showcase that this World Cup is being and that you are on the bench being investigated for inappropriate sexual conduct, what image do you think your country is giving?ā
āONLY FOOTBALL QUESTIONSā
To the second, forceful intervention of FIFA: āWe are going to ask you that the questions are only about football. Nextā. And the journalists continued to insist, turning their questions around and relating them to sports.
First, Barbra Banda replied to partner Pablo Vine, who asked him about how the absence of some of his teammates had affected because they did not agree with the management of the Federation: āIt is a bit sad because we started with them, but unfortunately there are things that cannot change. They spoke with the medical services and they could not do anything to make them there, Iām sure the substitutes are up to the task. ā Thus, the captain redirected the speech to the official version of the Federation: āthe absence is due to injury.ā
āI CANNOT WALK AWAY FOR NO REASONā
The only question answered Give it to him on this subject, after the companion mayca jimenez repeated several times in his question the expression āin footballā to refer to the noise around his team and if he had considered moving away so that his players could focus on playing the World Cup. What environment are you referring to? What are you talking about? Because I canāt walk away for no reason, itās something youāre reading in the media, in the press, but the truth will come out. You shouldnāt rely on rumors onlyā, he said satirically, as he did at the first previous press conference.
After two more questions on this subject, which the Zambian communication department together with FIFA chose to omit, the organization decided to end the press conference, leaving several colleagues and yourselves without shift.