Song out to prove innocence

Mifielder Alex Song has instructed his lawyers to challenge the verdict of the Cameroon Football Federation which placed a fine on him on disciplinary grounds.

The Arsenal player was fined €1.500 for failing to exchange pleasantries with captain Samuel Eto’o ahead of the crucial 2012 Nations Cup qualifier with Senegal.

Speaking to Xinhua on Tuesday in Yaounde, Song’s lawyer Sebastien Song argued that his client’s refusal to take a handshake from Eto’o was not an infraction of the Fecafoot rules.

“The fact that you refuse to shake hands with a team-mate does not constitute a breach of the body’s rules and regulations,” the lawyer said.

“The incident took place in a private gathering and can’t be blamed on my client (Alex Song). More to that, the coach who was present at the scene did to include the incident in his report to the FA because he felt Alex didn’t break any rules.”

Alex Song had been summoned for an “attitude of contempt” towards Samuel Eto’o, after he avoided the Inter forward’s handshake in a Yaounde hotel the group was staying at ahead of the Senegal face-off.

The fine was however converted to a three-day community service of sporting interest where Song will be asked to carry out training sessions with youths from a football academy to be designated by the Fecafoot, but of which the player’s lawyer vows to contest.

“It is a stupefying verdict that we’ll not sit back and accept. It is totally unjust and we’ll use all available means to appeal and overturn it,” the lawyer said.

Eto’o was cleared while Tottenhem’s Benoit Assou-Ekotto was reprimanded for an unauthorised absence in camp ahead of an important match.