Cameroonian Footballer Says Club Made Him Warm Bench Over His Pro-Russian Stance

Since the end of the World Cup 2022 in Qatar, where Gael Ondoua wore cleats with the flag of Russia in a match against Switzerland, the football player with Russian and Cameroonian passports has not played a single match for Germany's Hannover 96 club, with which he signed on.

Gael Ondoua, a defensive midfielder for Hannover 96, insists that the main reason he is sitting on the substitutes bench is due to his support for Russia.

The midfielder said the club is not counting on him, despite his contract being valid untill the end of the season.

"There is not the least chance that I enter the field this season. I think the reasons are clear. Everyone saw what happened to me after the World Cup. To the player signed on with the club as a Russian citizen. And I believe everyone should always have their own truth and position. Now, I pay the price for it," Ondoua said.

He stated that he had made his choice and would go through with it, emphasizing the significance of having one's own opinion.

As part of the Cameroonian national team, Ondua was the only footballer with a Russian passport in the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Moreover, in a match against Switzerland, he donned cleats depicting the Russian flag next to the Cameroonian one.

In a 2022 interview with Sputnik, Ondua explained why he had decided to take the field at the World Cup in footwear with the Russian flag.

"The two flags on my cleats are Russia's and Cameroon's, I have been playing with them for a long time. And I think it's not a question of this day or this World Cup competition," he said.

He said the Russian flag was a "sign of gratitude" for what the country had done for him. "So it is a tradition for me that I think is irrevocable, and has been with me for a long time," the football player emphasized.

The dual-citizen football star was born in Cameroon, but grew up in Russia because his father worked in Moscow as a Cameroonian diplomat.