Samuel Eto banned for 15 matches

Samuel Eto'o has been handed a 15-match ban by Cameroon for leading a players strike. Eto'o, the skipper of the Indomitable Lions, and vice-captain Eyong Enoh were found guilty of encouraging team-mates not to travel to Algeria for a friendly in November.

"Samuel Eto'o, in his role as captain, incited his team-mates to refuse to travel to Algeria," the Cameroon football federation stated on its official website.

After already missing out on next year's African Nations Cup, the prolonged absence of the Anzhi Makhachkala striker will come as a huge blow to Cameroon's hopes of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup, with their first qualifier set to take place next June against the Democratic Republic of Congo.

It is understood the Cameroon players were angered after the federation refused payment for their participation in a four-nation tournament in Morocco earlier in the year. Tottenham's Benoit Assou-Ekotto has since been fined one million CFA francs for refusing to appear at the tournament.

Eto'o, Enoh and Ekotto have been given 10 days to lodge an appeal.