AFCON star boots ball out 'for no reason' as fans ask 'has he got a bet on'

Guinea-Bissau star Jefferson Encada hammered the ball out of play for an Ivory Coast corner under no pressure at AFCON - leading fans to joke he had 'bet the over on corners'

Football fans have joked AFCON star Jefferson Encada "had a bet on" after he hammered the ball out for a corner under no pressure.

AFCON kicked off on Saturday afternoon, as hosts Ivory Coast played Guinea-Bissau. And with under three minutes on the clock Encada received the ball in his own penalty area.

However, despite having time on the ball, the full-back opted to hammer the ball out behind his own goal to hand the hosts a corner. And football fans were baffled with his decision making - with some joking he must have "bet the over on corners".

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"The Guinea-Bissau player booting the ball out for a corner 3 minutes in with no pressure on him is hilarious," one fan joked. While a second replied: "My man had a bet on 8+ corners in the match. Can't take no chances!"

"AFCON is the best football tournament in the world and I will not hear anyone say otherwise," a third responded. And another added: "Lumped on a Guinea-Bissau corner first 10 mins didn’t he!"

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Ivory Coast did race into an early, as they broke the deadlock through ex-Manchester City youngster Seko Fofana. Fofana found the net in the fourth minute - one minute after the corner incident.

However, Ivory Coast were unable to build on their advantage until the just before the hour mark when Red Star Belgrade attacker Jean-Philippe Krasso fired home.

Ivory Coast now face a tricky clash with Nigeria who will be out for revenge after being held by Equatorial Guinea in their opener.