Andre Onana could reportedly be banned from playing for Manchester United if he snubs a call-up for the next Africa Cup of Nations.
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According to The Sun, the 27-year-old fears for his starting position at Old Trafford and could remove himself from AFCON 2023 contention in order to try and secure his position as the No. 1 goalkeeper in Erik ten Hag's side.
The Barcelona academy alumni has not endured the best of starts to his United career. After it seemed like he was regaining his form, going top of the Golden Glove standings after his clean sheet against Everton at Goodison Park last weekend, the Cameroonian made a costly handling error in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday, which earned Galatasaray their second goal.
Onana unretired from the Indomitable Lions earlier this year to help his nation secure qualification for the AFCON in the Ivory Coast that will kick off in January 2024, but with Ten Hag recently alluding to the readiness of Turkish goalkeeper and current United second-choice stopper Altay Bayindir, the Nkol Ngok native is rumoured to be scared about losing his spot and is open to not taking part in the continental tournament as a result.
However, should the former Inter Milan goalkeeper refuse to honour a call-up to instead play for the record Premier League winners, he could be banned from playing for his club as FIFA rules state that, as per SportBible: "A player who has been called up by his association for one of its representative teams is, unless otherwise agreed by the relevant association, not entitled to play for the club with which he is registered during the period for which he has been released or should have been released pursuant to the provisions of this annex, plus an additional period of five days."
The goalkeeper's compatriot Joel Matip was subjected to a ban after refusing to play for Cameroon at the 2017 edition of the AFCON under Hugo Broos.
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Earlier this year, Onana reconciled with Cameroon head coach Rigobert Song and the Cameroonian Football Federation after falling out during the 2022 FIFA World Cup, but faces a new dilemma amid his bad run of form for the English giants.
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