Midfielder suspended for Burundi qualifier

June 5
Burundi vs Rwanda

AMAVUBI midfielder Jean Claude Iranzi has been ruled out of next month’s 2012 Africa Nations Cup Group H return leg qualifier against Burundi.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has confirmed that the 19-year-old will miss the game after accumulating back to back yellow cards.

The news did not go down well with Amavubi head Coach Sellas Tetteh who was hoping to unleash the winger in the June 5 showdown.

Rwanda opened their qualification campaign on a disappointing note after back to back defeats against Ivory Coast (0-3) and Benin (0-3).

But a 3-1 victory over Burundi’s Swallows restored some hopes for the wasps whose only CAN appearance came back in 2004.

In that game, Iranzi scored the opener before further strikes from AS Cannes striker Elias Uzamukunda a.k.a Baby and Eric Gasana.

Reacting to the suspension, Tetteh said, "Iranzi’s performance in the first leg was incredible so his absence is definitely a big  blow to the team.”

"He has improved so much this season. He has become a very important player not just for APR but for the national team as well,” the Ghanaian added.

Tetteh is expected to name his provisional team before the end of the week.

Similar to the first leg, Baby and former Amavubi skipper Patrick Mafisango are some of the professionals expected to make the squad which enters camp next Tuesday.

A win for Amavubi coupled with a loss for Benin (against Ivory Coast) will take Rwanda into second place with six points, six adrift of Ivory Coast and two above Benin.

Currently Burundi is at the bottom with a point.

The African tournament will be jointly hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.

Ends