France’s hopes of repeating their 2018 World Cup triumph lies through the path of Paul Pogba. But the French midfielder has had his own share of bizarre controversies and injuries in the lead up to the 2022 Qatar WC that have derailed what should have been a smooth run-up to a tournament that has no clear favourites and is up for the grabs. The game of football has had its fair share of controversy but probably the darkest and whackiest among them all has been the influence of witchcraft. Despite such supernatural forces not finding a space in the modern-day narrative, time and again this aspect has kept coming back for decades now, and Pogba is one of the footballers who is right in the middle of it all.
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Historically, witchcraft and mystic skills have always found their way into the beautiful game. In various countries of Africa, they have found mention as Muti, at times as Juju or Otumakpo — all to influence the outcome of the matches or even hurt the opponents. There have been instances of African players and staff being banned when such attempts of gaining an unfair advantage have been made.
So why is this topic relevant in 2022? Recently, Pogba was alleged to have used black magic spells on teammate Kylian Mbappe, including African voodoo aka Juju. While Pogba denied the claims made by his brother Mathias Pogba, he shockingly admitted to having contacted a witch doctor but denied allegations that it was to cast a spell on his France teammate Kylian Mbappe.
The football World Cup – one of the biggest tournaments in the world – has also not been spared. In 2017, Peruvian shamans in Lima were pictured attempting to curse the New Zealand squad to help their team secure a place in the final World Cup playoff spot. In a video on Facebook, a snake charmer in Peru was seen putting a hex on the Kiwi team.
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Incredible scenes outside Estadio Nacional in Lima this morning. A curse placed on the All Whites, including live snake!
Posted by The All Sports Breakfast Wellington on Tuesday, 14 November 2017
Strangely, the New Zealand team had to face several logistical nightmares on their way to the match. The Shamans also vowed to give their team spiritual strength to beat New Zealand.
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Once again in 2022, thirteen Peruvian shamans conducted a spiritual ceremony on the hills of Lima — this time to bless Peru’s national side for a spot in the World Cup. They did so by poking a picture of the Socceroos with swords. “‘There are 13 shamans because Peru plays Australia on the 13 June,” BBC quoted shaman Walter Alarcon as saying. However, this time the Australians ended up on the winning side and qualified for the event in Qatar.
Senegal’s win over France in the 2002 FIFA World Cup is still shrouded with conspiracy theories. Former Arsenal and French midfielder Emmanuel Petit, who was a player in the game, still describes it as a “mysterious” match.
Speaking to RMC Sport, he said, “Witch doctors probably contributed to that mysterious game.”
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“Let me tell you a story. One year before the 2002 World Cup, I was at a beach in France and met a Senegalese hawker. He walked up to me and said “Look, in the World Cup that will be played in 12 months, France will meet Senegal, and Senegal will win by 1-0, because our witch doctors are very strong in Senegal. You will see.”
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“I wasn’t sure of anything until it truly happened a year later,” Petit said. “I think the different events keep reinforcing that belief that something beyond field football happened between us, France and Senegal that day,” he said.
Another widely circulated story online is that of Yaya Toure’s agent predicting an “African curse” on Man City boss Pep Guardiola. Dmitri Seluk (Toure’s agent), had prophesied that an “African curse” will prevent Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola from ever winning the UEFA Champions League again.
“I am sure that many African shamans will not let Guardiola win the Champions League in the future. It will be like an African curse on Guardiola. Time will tell if I am right or not,” Seluk was quoted as saying by Sport24 (h/t Goal.com).
In another episode almost 20 years ago, when Cameroon were facing Mali in the semi-final of the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations, a charm was allegedly put on the pitch shortly before kick-off.
Even the Premier League has not been able to free itself from the clutches of dark magic. In 2015, a report in the Sun stated that there were quite a few superstitious football stars who were paying heavily to witchdoctors to help them gain superior form. Emmanuel Adebayor was among the notable names who claimed that his mother used black magic to ruin his form in front of the goal for Spurs.
However, former Nigeria and West Brom striker Brown Ideye warned that there was also a racket that conned stars.
Former Nigeria international Peter Odemwingie, in an interview with Championat per The Nation, revealed that most African players believe more in juju treatment than going to see doctors when injured.
“At least 70% of players believe in it. They think that some kind of magic will save them. This is more of a suggestion. Brainwashing goes,” he was quoted as saying.
Well, the debate about the place of witchcraft in African nations will be an unending discourse. But if such was their influence, why has it been impossible for an African team to get past the quarter-final of the World Cup since its inception?
