Pierre Nkurunziza ruled Burundi for 15 years. In 2018, he jailed an opposing coach for several fouls against him.
Playing football against a head of state can have its consequences. And some can be serious, as happened in Burundi in February 2018. The then president of this African country, Pierre Nkurunziza, finally ordered to arrest an opponent coach (Cyriaque Nkezabahizi) and his assistant (Michel Mutama) because rival players committed harsh fouls against him.
Sandor Szucs, the footballer who was hanged for loving
Curiosity of sports, politics and power. Nkurunziza (1964-2020) was a fan of the ball and always traveled with his team, Haleyuya FC, to play different matches. On that occasion, he organized a friendly match in the town of Kiremba (near the border with Rwanda) and, in his opinion, received a serious mark, with strong legs. Which is called rough play, actually. Nothing that a Lionel Messi, a Cristiano Ronaldo, a Neymar and company have not suffered.
Of course, the president didn’t like it very much, he couldn’t stand out as a goalscorer, as he used to, and in the end he blamed the opposing coaching staff for giving those supposed instructions to his leaders. He accused them of “conspiracy against the President of the Republic.”
Subsequently, the pro-government press reported that the arrests were part of the trial for “undermining state security”. According to the agency AFPthe rival team also consisted of some Congolese refugees who were unaware of the highest authority.
Nkurunzizal, born in 1964, He was president of this country from 2005 to 2020. He built a stadium for nine thousand people in his hometown and made more than ten in the rest of the country. He liked football, but apparently he didn’t like losing…
Source: Goal