“If he had those mental problems why is he still playing in a busy period every 3days? All I can say is that the moment he doesn’t play for Burnley then he will remember Bafana Bafana”- South Africa legend criticizes Burnley Lyle Foster for snubbing AFCON call-up
A former Bafana Bafana captain has come
out and criticised Lyle Foster for his attitude
despite the Burnley striker only recently
returning to action after taking time out
because of his reported mental health
challenges.
South Africa legend Aaron Mokoena
questions why Foster is mentally ready to
play in the Premier League while he can’t
play for Bafana in the upcoming Africa Cup
of Nations.
“Look, it’s easy to come out and say ‘l don’t
want to play for the national team anymore
or you pick and choose the matches (you
want to play);” Mokoena told GameOn on
Radio2O00.
According to South Africa head coach Hugo
Broos when he addressed various media on
the matter recently, Foster had written a
letter requesting to be excused for the
Afcon finals due to his reported mental
health challenges.
Notably, Burnley manager Vincent Kompany had stated that it’s the club’s doctors who feel Foster cannot participate at Afcon as he needs
time to completely recover.
In November last year, the Clarets had then
originally revealed the striker’s struggles
with mental health and that Foster needed
a break from the game even though he was
bang on form scoring goals for club and
country.
This seems to indicate that even
though Foster was playing and scoring
goals, his mental health issues still need
be taken very seriously. Despite this,
Mokoena criticises Foster and compares
him to South African players who were not
committed to play every game for their
country.
“I can think of a Benni (MCCarthy). Benni
once said ‘I’m retiring from international
games’, you know? So, it’s easy to say it.
Right now, it’s up to the boy because if he
had those mental problems why is he still
playing in a busy period every three days?
“The question comes up to say, ‘does he
want to play for the country or not?’ I think
he is the only one to answer that question.
But we all need him. We all need him,”
Mokoena believes.
“All I can say is that the moment he doesn’t
play for Burnley then he will remember
Bafana Bafana if he doesn’t want to play for
the country,” he added.
The Premier League in England has gone
through their typical busy festive season
schedule and now the FA Cup fixtures are
in, though each club will be given a two-
week break in January. It can be argued
that this break will benefit Foster better
than pushing hard again during the Afcon
in the lvory Coast.
