AFCON 2021: Penalties are football's double-edged sword... Especially for the Leone Stars
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Reading Time: 3min | Wed. 02.02.22. | 16:50
Umaru Bangura states Sierra Leoneans see the spot-kicks as a ‘matter of life and death’
An opportunity from the penalty spot was always considered one of the best things that can happen to your team. But it has it's own negatives - especially the responsibility to convert it and the criticism if one fails to score.
Sierra Leone footballers felt closely the awful effect of missed penalties when their national team played recently. After the Africa Cup of Nations and the qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup, football fans reacted in a way that scares the players and endangers their safety.
Following Kei Kamara’s missed shot at the ongoing AFCON, the Leone Stars skipper Umaru Bangura revealed that his international teammates are now scared of taking penalties.
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According to Bangura, Sierra Leoneans see penalties as a matter of ‘life and death’. So much that in September 2019, Bangura himself saw his house vandalised after he missed a stoppage-time spot-kick in a 2022 World Cup qualifier against Liberia.
Two weeks ago, Kamara's house was targeted after missing a penalty in the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations against Equatorial Guinea. The fans were furious - had the 37-year-old converted his kick, the 1-1 score would take the West Africans to the eight-finals.
"Most of the boys have told me they're now scared of taking penalties because of what has happened to two senior players in the team, myself and Kei Kamara," Bangura stated in a chat with BBC Sport Africa.
"I backed off from taking penalties for Leone Stars because it's a matter of life and death for Sierra Leoneans.
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"Nobody is 100 per cent sure of scoring a penalty, so why would you step forward to take a penalty when you know that if you miss you are going to get hurt by your people?
"It's normal for a player to miss a penalty, [Riyad] Mahrez, [Lionel] Messi and other big stars have missed penalties. [Franck] Kessie, who always scores a penalty for his club, missed against us when we played against Ivory Coast."
The psychological trauma Bangura went through even got him considering retirement from playing for the national team. The Sierra Leone Football Association eventually persuaded him to stay with the Leone Stars.
"When I missed a penalty against Liberia people insulted me, vandalised my house. I went through psychological torture for a year,” the 34-year-old added.
"I healed when we qualified for the Nations Cup for the first time in 25 years after defeating Benin in Conakry.
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"I felt relieved when I skippered the team to qualification. I knew I had given my country something I lost before."
"So I understand what Kamara is going through and his situation is the worst because he might not have anything again to give back to Sierra Leone and for Sierra Leoneans to forget about what has happened."
Few people ever think about the pressure one goes through as he or she approaches the white dot in the grass. The fear of missing the penalty shot is nothing compared to fearing for your family, house, or your own life.
