Harambee Stars legend John Baraza is the latest player to slam former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher following his demeaning comments on the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).Carragher has been on the receiving end of criticism from all corners of the world, in the past five days, for suggesting that the AFCON was not considered a ‘major tournament’.The former England defender appeared to insinuate that the biannual showpiece was inferior to other global football tournaments during last Sunday’s Premier League match between Liverpool and Manchester City.##NAJAVA_MECA_8737248##Although he explained his stance in a series of tweets through his X (formerly Twitter) account, the purported clarifications did little to exonerate him of the wrongdoing.Immediately after making the comments, active and former players, as well as football enthusiasts, slammed Carragher for the outright disrespect to Africa’s premier football tournament.Carragher dismisses AFCON as a major tournamentWhile most of the Kenyan players have not publicly come out to condemn Carragher, Baraza has called out the former player-turned-television pundit for his careless remarks“The Africa Cup of Nations is and remains the best tournament. Carragher should respect it and the African football,” said Baraza, who tasted the AFCON with Stars in the 2004 finals in Tunisia.Baraza, a Kenyan Premier League (KPL) winner with Sofapaka joined a host of respected African legends in wondering what Carragher had won in his active years to warrant the distasteful observation.Beldine Odemba responds to Harambee Starlets critics after jetting back from TunisiaThe three-time ‘Golden Boot’ could not help but question Carragher’s defensive attributes, which he felt were not good enough to earn him a mention in the list of elite centre-backs in the history of Liverpool and English football.”Was he really a good player? What did he win during his active years? I find it strange for someone, who was average in his playing years to disrespect the AFCON,” added Baraza, who currently serves as an assistant coach at Bandari.
