Drogba cops punishment for late arrival

Didier Drogba was punished for arriving late to camp ahead of Ivory Coast’s African Cup of Nations qualifier against Burundi on Sunday.

The Ivory Coast Football Federation’s (Fif) newly elected president Sidy Diallo confirmed his faith in the Elephants’ coach Francois Zahoui days before the team played its final Afcon qualifier against Burundi.

“You are the only chief on board, work and show that you are in command of your troop,” said Diallo.

Zahoui did not hesitate to put those words into action when his captain Drogba erred by reporting late to camp ahead of Sunday’s much-awaited match, which marked the return of the Ivorians to their home ground, the Stade Felix Houphouet Boigny, a year after post-election conflicts forced them to play outside of the country.

The Chelsea attacker was handed an immediate sanction by the coach, who said he would be doing without the services of the team’s all-time top scorer.

Former Tottenham midfielder Didier Zokora was designated as captain of the encounter instead of the talisman.

When it all looked certain that Drogba was set to return to England, Fif boss Diallo intervened and made peace with the player, as local fans, who had bought all of the 35,000 tickets for the game, wanted to see the two-time African Footballer of the Year.

Zahoui consequently reduced the player’s sentence to a half-time ban, which allowed him to play the second half of the Ivorians 2-1 win.

It is not the first time Drogba and the coach have clashed, with the striker one of a group of players to express his disappointment when Zahoui was appointed to replace Sven-Goran Eriksson in 2010, suggesting the need for a “foreign and experienced coach capable of steering the star-studded team forward.”