How to Leave Your Club, by Carlos Kameni

By: Daryl | January 6th, 2009

The easiest way to leave a club is to let your contract run out, then woosh!, you’re off, compliments of Jean-Marc Bosman. But if you’re really keen to leave it’s also a good idea to hit a bad patch of form, and then get into a big argument with a fan at training (pictured). Just to make sure.

That’s what Carlos Kameni has done anyway. Espanyol’s Cameroonian keeper is probably in the top tier of shotstopppers and so - with all respect - could definitely wear the gloves for a better team. (”Like Iker Casillas crossed with Optimus Prime” is how Run of Play’s Brian described him here.)

But he’s flapped at a few crosses recently as Espanyol has sank to 18th in La Liga. One unhappy fan apparently heckled Kameni at training and told him not to bother renewing his contract.

And then Kameni lost it, allegedly shouting “I’m a professional. You should respect my work, respect me.” and getting right in the fan’s face.

Personally, I don’t see a big problem here. If anyone came and heckled me while I was practicing blogging on my training keyboard* then I’d probably react angrily too. Never hassle a man at work, that’s one of life’s rules. Kameni’s only human and there was no Eric Cantona style violence involved, so everyone relax.

The Espanyol supporters club Federacio Catalana de Penyes feels differently though. Here’s a statement from their website, Google Translated (is it just me or is GT getting better?) from the original Catalan.

The Catalan Penyes of RCD Espanyol and the curve, after the
events this morning in the village, where a member of our
club has been threatened and shaken by sr. Carlos Kameni. Asks the
directive of the bank removed the player from the team because
we believe that does not deserve to take the shirt of the club centennial.

We also ask that you apply the highest sanction that allows the
the club’s disciplinary rules specifying clearly in his Chapter
II, Article 8 Section C, D and E as a very serious sanction, any attempt
or attempt of aggression. Any active participation in a fight or
threats and insults to anyone belonging to the club.

The fans of the Spanish fought in recent years to banish the
violence in our state by educating our young people in tolerance and
in the acceptance of the rules of civic behavior, and it is intolerable that
a player of the entity that should be example, where all our
children could look up, goes directly against the highest body
this club: the Partner.

We also want to state our displeasure to the statements in Sergio
Sanchez, in which justified the excessive reaction of Carlos Kameni,
because we consider that a team player, who would defend
provided to members of the club who saw him as a player.

But we want to make a call to all the fans to attend
Sunday next to the stadium to support our players who are
which in the end we have to remove the bad experience that we are
happening.

THE BOARD