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FIFA bans Cameroonian football star Samuel Eto’o from national team games for six months

ZURICH (AP) — Cameroon soccer star Samuel Eto’o was banned by FIFA on Monday from participating in national team games for six months.

Eto’o, who has been president of the Cameroon Football Association since 2021, faced two charges over an incident at the U20 Women’s World Cup on September 11 in Colombia.

FIFA did not provide details of the round of 16 match, in which Brazil beat Cameroon 3-1 after extra time.

Eto’o was disciplined for “offensive behavior and violations of the principles of fair play” and misconduct by officials, FIFA said.

“The ban imposed on Mr Eto’o prevents him from attending men’s and women’s matches with (Cameroon) teams of all categories and age groups,” FIFA said in a statement.

This period until March includes men’s national team matches in qualifying groups for the 2026 World Cup and the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.

Eto’o, 43, played for Cameroon in four World Cups from 1998 to 2014, missing only the 2006 edition, and scored a record 56 goals for the Indomitable Lions. He played in two teams that won the Africa Cup of Nations in 2000 and 2002.

He won three consecutive Champions League titles, including 2009 with Barcelona and 2010 with Inter Milan, in a storied career as one of the game’s best strikers.

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Alexandra Popp resigns from the German women’s national football team

WOLFSBURG, Germany (AP) — Alexandra Popp is retiring from the German women’s national soccer team next month after a career that includes Olympic gold in 2016, bronze at the Paris Olympics this year and second place at the had won the 2022 European Championship.

The 33-year-old striker and team captain announced on Monday that she will play her 145th and final game for Germany in a friendly against Australia on October 28 in Duisburg, where her professional career began.

Popp said her decision was made on a gut level but came after “long, tearful deliberation” and a desire to finish her national team career on her own terms.

“The fire that ignited in me 18 years ago (when Popp made her debut for the youth national teams) and grew stronger every year has now almost completely burned out,” she said in a statement.

“It was always important to make this crucial decision for myself, by myself alone. Neither my body, which is a ticking time bomb, nor any other person should get there before me.”

Popp was the last remaining player from the 2016 Olympics and is expected to retire with the ninth-most games played in the team’s history. With 67 goals, she is the third highest goalscorer in Germany.

Popp will remain a player at club level at Wolfsburg, where she has a contract until the end of the 2024/25 season.

Popp made her full international debut for Germany in 2010 and played in four World Cups. She is the third senior player to leave the German national team since the Olympic Games in Paris. Everyone plays for Wolfsburg.

Goalkeeper Merle Frohms announced her retirement at the age of 29 after being substituted in the Olympic tournament, and defender Marina Hegering followed shortly after.

Popp is a three-time European club champion, having won the then UEFA Women’s Cup with Duisburg in 2009 and the renamed Champions League twice with Wolfsburg.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.