The Africa Cup of Nations is being disrespected by some negative media coverage, says former England and Arsenal striker, Ian Wright.
The 24-team competition begins on January 9 and will feature a host of Premier League and European stars.
Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira is among those to also call for the tournament to be given more respect.
“Is there ever a tournament more disrespected than the Africa Cup of Nations?” Wright asked on Instagram.
On the media coverage around AFCON, he claimed: “There is no greater honour than representing your country. The coverage is completely tinged with racism.
“We played our Euros across 10 countries in the middle of a pandemic and there’s no issue at all. But Cameroon, a single country hosting a tournament, is a problem.
“There are players getting asked if they will be honouring the call-ups to their national teams. Imagine if that was an England player representing the Three Lions. Can you imagine the furore?”
Although several Premier League clubs will be without key players in January – including Crystal Palace who are set to lose Cheikhou Kouyate, Wilfried Zaha and Jordan Ayew – Eagles boss Vieira echoed Haller’s sentiments.
Players are allowed to play for their clubs until January 3 before leaving for the Africa Cup of Nations after FIFA rules stating clubs must release players by December 27 was changed “in the spirit of goodwill and solidarity”.
