Samuel Eto'o: Former Chelsea and Everton striker handed international ban by FIFA

Former Chelsea, Everton and Barcelona forward Samuel Eto’o has been banned from attending Cameroon international matches for six months after he was deemed to have breached their disciplinary rules.

Currently, Eto’o is the president of FECAFOOT, the Cameroonian football association. While the nature of Eto’o offences remain unclear, he has been sanctioned after having broken articles 13 and 14. These relate to ‘offensive behaviour and violations of the principles of fair play’ and ‘misconduct of players and officials’ respectively.

Not only will Eto’o be unable to attend games featuring Cameroon’s senior men’s team, he will also be banned from attending any games featuring an international Cameroonian outfit. The ban will come into immediate effect, but Eto’o will be able to appeal against FIFA’s official decision.

In a statement issued by FIFA, they wrote: “The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has sanctioned the President of the Cameroonian Football Association (FECAFOOT), Samuel Eto’o, with a six-month ban from attending matches of Cameroon’s representative teams for breaches of articles 13 (Offensive behaviour and violations of the principles of fair play) and 14 (Misconduct of players and officials) of the FIFA Disciplinary Code.

“The sanction was imposed in connection with the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup round of 16 match between Brazil and Cameroon played in Bogotá, Colombia, on 11 September 2024. The ban imposed on Mr Eto’o prevents him from attending men's’ and women’s matches involving FECAFOOT teams of all categories and age groups. Mr Eto’o has been notified today, the date on which the sanction comes into force.”

Over the course of his playing career, Eto’o won three La Liga titles, one Serie A title and two Champions League trophies. On the international stage, he won two African Cup of Nations trophies - he is Cameroon’s all-time leading goal scorer, with 56 goals from 118 caps.