Andre Bikey, the Cameroon defender, will miss the African Cup of Nations final against Egypt after he was sent off for pushing a medic in the 1-0 semi-final win over host nation Ghana on Thursday.
Bikey, who plays for Reading in the Premier League, was ordered off in injury time for shoving a first aid assistant who was attending to injured team-mate Rigobert Song.
Bikey appeared to venting his frustration at the time it was taking Cameroon’s medical team to get Song onto a stretcher, as Ghana desperately looked for an equaliser Abderrahim El Arjoune, the Moroccan referee had little choice but to give the defender the red card.
As Bikey left the field he was pelted with water bottles by irate Ghana fans and needed a police escort down the tunnel.
The 23-year-old’s bizarre dismissal took some of the gloss of Cameroon’s victory, which leaves them one step away from a record-equalling fifth African Nations Cup title.
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Cameroon, the African Cup of Nations winners in 1984, 1988, 2000 and 2002, edged a tense encounter thanks to Alain Nkong’s second-half strike.
Nkong, apearing in only his second international match, said Cameroon’s 4-2 defeat to Egypt in their opening match, was their wake-up call.
“In the end it was our mental strength that got us through. We were criticised so much after the first match. Every match has been a final for us since then,” said the player who spent eight years in the international wilderness.
Claude Le Roy, the Ghana manager, described the loss as “a huge, huge disappointment” for the country.
“I’ve been sad sometimes in my career, but nothing like today,” he said. “We were set to play in the final and win it, now all we have to look forward to is the third-place play-off. I’m sorry for the fans.”
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“This game was very difficult to prepare for. I had John Mensah out suspended, then yesterday Asamoah Gyan said he couldn’t play, then 15 minutes before kick-off Laryea Kingston gets injured.”
Michael Essien, Chelsea’s midfield dynamo, inherited Mensah’s captain’s armband, while Andre Ayew, son of Ghana legend Abedi Pele, was a last-minute replacement for Kingston.
Cameroon went close to taking the lead in the seventh minute, with Geremi, the Newcastle United midfielder, firing a 35-yard freekick inches over the crossbar. The only other chance of the first half fell to Ghana’s Ayew, who couldn’t keep his header down in time added on.
Otto Pfister, the Cameroon coach, introduced Nkong for Joseph Desire Job on the hour, and the substitute made his mark 11 minutes later.
After a long clearance out of defence, Barcelona’s Samuel Eto’o set up the marauding midfielder who beat Richard Kingson, the Ghana keeper, from 15 yards to silence the boisterous home fans.
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Ghana almost restored parity 10 minutes from time, but Junior Agogo’s header clipped the crossbar.