Cameroon manager Rigobert Song has opened up on why Inter Milan star Andre Onana was ejected from his sideâs squad only an hour before their World Cup match against Serbia.
Jean-Charles Castelletto fired Cameroon into the lead before Strahinja Pavlovic and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic scored in first-half injury time to put Serbia 2-1 up ahead of the break.
However, Serbia continued to build momentum early into the second half as Aleksandar Mitrovic scored eight minutes after play had resumed.
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Songâs men fought back as Vincent Aboubakar pulled Cameroon back into the contest before Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting scored the all-important equaliser for his side.
Ahead of Cameroon and Serbiaâs thrilling 3-3 draw on Monday, Songâs shock decision to axe Onana for the Group G clash was shrouded in controversy.
Onana, who started in Cameroonâs 1-0 defeat to Switzerland in their World Cup opener, was replaced by Devis Epassy between the sticks for the Serbia match.
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According to reports at the time, the 26-year-old Cameroon international was removed from the squad due to âdisciplinary reasons.â
It was believed that Onana ârefusedâ to alter his playing style for Song, which led to the Cameroon boss opting for Epassy ahead of the Inter âkeeper.
Now, Song has insisted that he is fully âresponsibleâ for the decision made and confirmed Onana was dropped from the starting XI due to disciplinary reasons.
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âI'm responsible and if any decisions have to be taken, Iâm fully prepared to do that,â he said.
âWhat Iâm interested in are the players who I do have at my disposal. And in just a few days' time, we have a very big match.
âThe issue is that Andre has now been left out for disciplinary reasons. In a group, you need to expect the rules [to] apply to everybody. And I prefer to ensure that the teams takes precedent over individuals.
âI think [I] needed to make that decision and it was something that had to happen.
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âEveryone who did get picked was capable and those who didnât want to be part of that, then that can be judged.â
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When asked about the Onana situation after the match, Song told Marca that he had asked the former Ajax star to leave himself.
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âYou have to adapt to the discipline of the team,â he explained.
âIf you canât do it, if you canât adapt to what we ask of this team, I think itâs necessary to step aside and take responsibility.
âThe team is more important than individuals.â
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics:Â Cameroon, Serbia, Football World Cup, Football