Spurs star ‘considering his future’

By European Football
April 1 2005

Spurs star Fredi Kanoute has stated that he is seriously considering his future in international football, following a pitch invasion, that left him fearing for his life, speaking to Spurs' official website he let it be known he would be wiling to return to Mali in the future, but only if security was improved:

"I will consider my future, but only on the principle of security."

"In Africa we have had problems with security, at some places there is very little and it can be difficult to play there.”

"Every African player would say that, if you talk to Noureddine Naybet and Thimothee Atouba they have some amazing stories about it.”

"I don't want to accept this as normal because it is not. It is not a football problem, for me it is sometimes a social and economic problem. Usually in the countries which are not very rich, when you have an opportunity to express your feelings it can be through football and sometimes you can't control it.”

"I will go back to Mali and I am not scared - I know people won't do anything to me. Things can happen anywhere in the world.”

"I don't know if I will go back soon for football because I was upset about it, but I will talk to my fellow players and the federation before making a decision."

"It was a difficult situation but it was not aimed only at me. It was reported that fans wanted to kill me and I was scared to death - I have never said that. I just said it was a difficult time, yes they invaded the pitch and it was hostile.”

"It was not against me, I was a bit upset about it, but I didn't fear for my life like it is being made out.”

"When they came on the pitch the security couldn't handle it, it was too much for them. That was it, we stayed in the dressing room for a while because we couldn't get out. When it calmed down a little bit we were able to go back to the hotel and then the training camp.”

"I didn't feel anything was aimed at me personally or my strike partner. It was exactly the same for every player, if it was difficult for me it was as difficult for everybody."

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