People said one of the “Lions Indomptables” died in Egypt where they are playing their first match today, versus Guinea-Bissau. That is not true. The Communications Department of the Cameroon Football Federation (Fecafoot) denied this in a statement on June 24.

Fécafoot explains what rather happened is that the team’s doctor, Professor William Ngatchou, detected in stricker Joël Tagueu, “an anomaly in the implantation of a coronary artery, with a proven risk of sudden death.” Clearly, he was diagnosed with a disease that could cause sudden death, but the football player did not die.

Gabriel Nloga, head of communications at the Ministry of Sports, confirms: “More fear than harm. For the doctor who made the diagnosis, and all his colleagues consulted for the occasion said, it is a curable anomaly that is not harmful to the pursuit of his [Joël Tagueu] career.”

In addition, the Federation says, on the advice of Cameroon's team doctor, coach Clarence Seedorf, has decided not to put the player at risk, so he will not play. “Fecafoot encourages Joël Tagueu (26 years old) to very quickly begin the medical process of correcting this anomaly fortunately detected in time,” the statement said.

S.A