Cameroon coach wants Samuel Eto'o stripped of captaincy following strike

Samuel Eto'o (GETTY IMAGES)

Cameroon coach Denis Lavagne wants Samuel Eto'o removed as captain when he returns from suspension later this year.

Eto'o was given an eight-month ban for leading a strike last November when Cameroon refused to play a friendly in Algeria because they had not been paid promised bonuses.

In a letter to the Cameroon Football Federation, Frenchman Lavagne called for them to make a decision on the captaincy before games against Cape Verde Islands in September and October in the final round of 2013 African Nations Cup preliminaries.

“Consequently, we are requesting that a meeting be held to designate the next captain of the national team and his assistants," Lavagne wrote in the letter released to the media in Cameroon.

Lavagne also complained that his annual salary of 132 million CFA francs (about $245,000) has not been paid. He said his contract stipulated it should be paid in a lump sum.

Lavagne, who was recently warned by the federation for being disrespectful to a government minister, was appointed last year after Cameroon fired former Spain manager Javier Clemente when they failed to reach the 2012 Nations Cup finals.

Reuters