Cameroon suspend French coach Lavagne

The coach of the Cameroon football team Denis Lavagne has been evicted by the country’s sports minister Adoum Garoua. A press release from the sports ministry says the decision is due to poor results by the team, the most recent being the two -nil defeat to little rated Cape Verde in the last round qualifiers for the 2013 african cup of nations.

The same decision also appoints Jean Paul Akono as the coach to be assisted by Martin Ndtoungou Mpile, who was also deputy to Lavagne.

Lavagne will continue receiving his bonuses until the 31st of October 2012 when his contract expires. The frenchman who is contesting the minister’s decision,said “?The minister has no right to suspend me” ?”I’m still the coach of the indomitable lions until I have a contrary decision from the football federation fecafoot.”

In the meantime, the federation’s secretary general Tombi a Roko Sidiki told supersports.com this morning that the minister’s decision was not taken unanimously.

?We back the decision to suspend Lavagne because we saw it as the best way to take Cameroon’s football out of the sorry situation now,’ he said ?we need someone who can pilot the team through the turbulent waters.’

However, the cause of disagreement remains the choice of his successor. ?Jean Paul Akono does not have the right profile to lead the team, Tombi said. Nevertheless, he refused to name the federation’s choice of coach.

Denis Lavagne coached the lions for ten months and won the LG cup in Marraketch Morocco last November. On his part, Akono will be in his second stint at the helm of the lions after a short stay between 2000 and 2001. He won gold for Cameroon at the summer Olympics in 2000.