One thing has now been confirmed, according to the interview granted by Karl Toko Ekambi to SoFoot this Tuesday: Olympique Lyonnais will not see their ex-vice captain again next summer. Under contract until 2024 and currently on loan without an option to buy at Stade Rennais, the Cameroonian international thus indicates: “I do not think I will play again in Lyon. In any case, I hope not”. There are many reasons for this point of no return, after a disastrous first half of the season at OL at the collective level (9th in Ligue 1 at the halfway point) as well as individually (no goals scored with Lyon since September 11 before his departure).
Karl Toko Ekambi gets to the heart of the matter by evoking his conflict with the bends of supporters, which erupted after his famous provocation, a hand behind his ear then a finger in front of his mouth during a success against Montpellier (5-2 ) on April 24, 2022. “The supporters, I don’t care, launches the former Villarreal player. Honestly, I don’t give a fuck. Strangely, those who are targeted are not Lyonnais. I’m not going to say the strong word I’m thinking of, but it’s weird, it’s always the same profiles that are targeted there. The 30-year-old Cameroonian denounces the “racism” of OL supporters, who according to him also targeted Maxwel Cornet, Bertrand Traoré and Houssem Aouar.
“They are not men”
In addition to this frontal attack against the bends of Parc OL, where he played for three years, Karl Toko Ekambi attacks the club’s management in this interview. First of all about the banner of the bend with his photo and the inscription “Get out”, which appeared in January. “When your photo is everywhere in the stadium, in a big way, when you touch a ball you are whistled… It’s a shame because I think the club has let things go a little. We leave the hotel, we see our photos. We arrive in front of the stadium, the security lets the supporters pass and stone us. It’s a lot. There is the impression of not being supported by the club. »
An accusation that should make noise within OL, even if the new Rennes striker is not targeting Jean-Michel Aulas and Laurent Blanc. Then Karl Toko Ekambi continues the reproaches, by attacking the sanctions having followed his exit under the whistles, with a kick in a trash can, against Strasbourg (1-2) on January 14.
When certain members of the club send me registered letters to fine me, take away my ethics bonus because I typed in the trash… That’s not support. They are not men. It shows that they are against me, like the supporters. And it’s not good for the club. When you get robbed, when you ask the club to put security in front of your house during matches and they don’t agree, when they do it for other players… It gets weird, you ask questions. »
Recovered as never before, Karl Toko Ekambi launches a final salvo against the Lyon club, which would have asked him to “return quickly” to training after the death of his father, in 2021. “I had to go back and forth to Cameroon by private plane to see my father’s body, he continues. You realize ? They didn’t tell me to take my time, because we had a match four days later. “It is rare to witness such a clash between a player still under contract and his club, in addition to his supporters. Released under the whistles of a part of Roazhon Park, Saturday against Lens (0-1), Karl Toko Ekambi (1 goal in 9 L1 games with Rennes) has not yet revived in Brittany.