Salimatou Kourouma and Kamite Elisabeth Dabou are playing well this Tuesday morning Mali-Canada, the last group match of the Women’s Basketball World Cup in Sydney. The day before, just after the fourth defeat of their national team against Serbia (68-81), synonymous with elimination in the first round, the two players had come to blows in the mixed zone of the Olympic Park Sports Center, where media and players meet, before being separated by teammates.
The International Basketball Federation (Fiba) announced on Tuesday that it had opened an investigation after this fight in Australia, the images of which were shared on social networks. “The Fiba recognizes that there was an altercation between Malian players in the mixed zone, explains in a press release the institution, whose president Hamane Niang is Malian. Following this incident, she opened an investigation. Fiba will decide on any possible disciplinary action once it is over. »
“It’s madness! »
After this surprising episode on Monday, the Malian leader Touty Gandega had indicated on her Twitter account that the selection wanted to “apologize to the Malian people and the African people”.
“It’s really not the image we wanted to convey, specified the player. God knows we get along well, and unfortunately it’s a slippage that we would have liked to avoid. I know it’s madness but the little ones deeply regret their behavior. “For his final match against Canada before leaving Australia, and to know later the possible sanctions of Fiba, all the Malian workforce is therefore present this Tuesday.