FIFA bans Cameroon soccer great Samuel Eto’o from national team games for 6 months

ZURICH (AP) — Cameroon soccer great Samuel Eto’o was banned by FIFA on Monday from attending any national team games for six months.

Eto’o, who has been president of the Cameroon soccer federation since 2021, faced two charges from an incident at the Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Colombia on Sept. 11.

FIFA did not specify details of what happened at the round of 16 game that Brazil won against Cameroon 3-1 after extra time.

Eto’o was judged to have broken disciplinary rules relating to “offensive behavior and violations of the principles of fair play” and misconduct of officials, FIFA said.

“The ban imposed on Mr. Eto’o prevents him from attending men’s and women’s matches involving (Cameroon) teams of all categories and age groups,” FIFA said in a statement.

That period through March includes men’s national team games in qualifying groups for the 2026 World Cup and 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.

The 43-year-old Eto’o played for Cameroon at four World Cups from 1998 to 2014, missing only the 2006 edition, and scored a record 56 goals for the Indomitable Lions. He played in two Africa Cup of Nations title-winning teams, in 2000 and 2002.

He won three Champions League titles, including back to back in 2009 with Barcelona and 2010 with Inter Milan, in a storied career as one of soccer’s top forwards.

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FILE - Soccer player Samuel Eto'o watches warmups before an International Champions Cup soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid on July 26, 2019, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Steve Luciano, File)

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) — Evacuation orders and warnings were in place Monday for Southern California residents near a wildfire that is largely contained after the blaze flared up over the weekend.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department told residents of Seven Oaks to leave the small mountain community following a sudden surge in the Line Fire on Sunday afternoon.

Sheriff's officials on Monday ordered residents in nearby Angelus Oaks to evacuate, and warned those in the Boulder Bay area along Big Bear Lake to be prepared to leave.

As of Sunday, the Line Fire was spread over 62.6 square miles (162.13 square kilometers) and 83% contained, with 1,176 personnel assigned to fight the blaze, according to the San Bernardino National Forest. At its height, the blaze threatened more than 65,000 homes.

A California man pleaded not guilty on Sept. 17 to starting the Line Fire on Sept. 5. Justin Wayne Halstenberg, 34, of Norco, California, was charged with 11 arson-related crimes, according to court records.

Temperatures are expected to spike this week across California. Dry, hot winds in the northern part of the state prompted Pacific Gas & Electric to preemptively cut power Monday to about 1,200 customers in Butte and Shasta counties. The utility routinely cuts electricity service in areas where weather conditions increase the risk of fires.

FILE - Firefighters monitor the advancing Line Fire in Angelus Oaks, Calif., Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer, File)