Haris Belkebla’s dream of playing in the Africa Cup of Nations came to a crashing end on Wednesday after he was axed from the Algerian squad.
The midfielder shattered his own dreams following his peculiar behavior when he exposed his backside to thousands of viewers on a fortnight live stream.
The incident happened when Algeria’s goalkeeper Alexandre Oukidja was playing the popular online game on PlayStation 4. Unaware that the goalkeeper was broadcasting his match on a streaming platform Twitch, Belkebla pulled down his pants and showed off his bottom, and boom! Viral it went.
The Algerian coach Djamel Belmadi on receiving the bizarre news wasted no time in axing the 25-year-old, insisting that discipline must be maintained.
A statement from the Algerian federation read: “The national team coach Djamel Belmadi has decided to exclude Algeria midfielder Haris Belkebla from the Africa Cup of Nations training camp.
“The coach’s decision was to maintain discipline within the group, which he considers paramount.”
Belkebla who plies his trade in France had previously played for his country at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil, but this was his maiden call up to the senior national team.
Although he took no part in Algeria’s friendly game against Burundi on Sunday, the midfielder participated in his initiation and was looking forward to helping his country win the competition that kicks off in Egypt next week, but that will not be possible now as he was sent home. He has since been replaced by Mohamed Benkhemassa.
