Orange juice mars Gabon's World Cup dream, sorcerer gets Argentina through

Football is beyond the field of play as important tournaments such as the World Cup are shrouded in myths, conspiracy theories, and mysticism. 

The upcoming Russia 2018 World Cup tournament had its fair share during the qualification phase.

Gabon national team – The Panthers – led by Borussia Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang blamed some orange juice for its loss to Morocco last week dashing their dreams.

Aubameyang tweeted after their 3-0 loss in Casablanca that half of the team and staff had upset stomachs after drinking the juice ahead of the qualifier.

 “Half the team and the staff ill with upset stomachs. Incredible on a match day… Oh no, it’s a good one! What orange juice this morning!” he said.

 As his conspiracy theory started raising eyebrows, the coach José Antonio Camacho confirmed the suspicion in an interview with Spanish media Cadena SER saying it was strange it happened after a warning from the players.

“We believe it was the orange juice because those that did not have it were fine. I just had a sip so I didn’t have a lot but I still spent the morning of the game going from my bed to the toilet.

“Half of my team and staff had stomach pains and diarrhoea throughout the day of the game. They had to constantly go to the toilet,” he said. H e also disclosed that the players had warned him against relying on foods in host countries were such important games are to be played.

“The issue of food was just very strange. You feel perplexed that nowadays this can happen. My players had already warned me to expect something like this.

 “I was told by them that they had had a similar situation in the African Nations Cup. They said that we had to be wary, they didn’t trust anything. Some players wouldn’t eat at the hotel. We went to eat outside the hotel,” he said, adding that “it should not happen in international football”.

The other “spooky” international football incident was Argentina’s reported patronage of the services of a sorcerer who travelled with the team ahead of the crucial Ecuador clash on Wednesday. Two Argentine media TyC Sports and El Clarin reported that the mystic called Manuel was recommended to the Argentinian football body by former Argentine midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron who claimed he helped local squad Estudiantes de La Plata win the 2009 Copa Libertadores.