Fernando Valente was sacked as the head coach of struggling Liga 1 Indonesia side Arema FC last Friday, following his side’s heavy 4-1 loss at the hands of PSIS Semarang. And while the Singo Edan quickly got themselves a replacement head coach in the form of former Bali United, Persita Tangerang, Bhayangkara Presisi Indonesia FC and Deltras FC gaffer Widodo Cahyono Putro, Valente’s exit was marred by accusations of racism made by former Arema defender Ichaka Diarra.
Malian centre-back Ichaka was one of the two foreign players that left Arema midway through the 2023/24 campaign and the only one who ended his contract with the Singo Edan, as prolific Brazilian striker Gustavo went out on loan to Persija Jakarta. Now plying his trade in Lebanon with Al Ansar, Ichaka was quick to express his delight towards Valente’s sacking on social media.
“It’s a good news that he (Fernando Valente) left,” Ichaka said on Instagram, “He doesn’t know anything about Arema. This team has plenty of decent players but he doesn’t know how to make good use of them.”
“He doesn’t like Black players,” Ichaka continued, “What a racist. But my heart is Arema through and through and I hope that they could escape relegation at the end of the season.”
Signed from Al Ansar at the start of the 2023/24 season, Ichaka was a mainstay in the Arema defense during the tenure of joint-head coaches I Putu Gede and Joko Susilo, even being named as vice-captain by the duo, only to fall off the pecking order once Valente was named as the Singo Edan‘s head coach with the Portuguese preferring the center-back partnership of either Syaeful Anwar or Bagas Adi Nugroho and Charles Almeida. Ichaka’s fate was then sealed after Valente brought in Colombian midfielder Julian Guevara, who can slot in as a makeshift center-back.
And it’s not only Ichaka who saw his playing minutes being severely curtailed after Valente’s arrival.
Veteran striker Greg Nwokolo and DR Congo-born Australian attacker Charles Lokolingoy also saw their chances being severely reduced once Valente was named head coach. Nigeria-born Greg was left out completely from the Arema setup, while Charles was used sparingly, often being thrown into the fray late into the second half of games.
Valente’s treatment of Ichaka, Greg, and Charles – the three of them being Black players – surely raised some suspicion on whether the former Santa Clara, Varzim, Shakhtar Donetsk II and Estoril Praia U-23 head coach was a racist or not.
“There were no problems in the defense,” said Ichaka, “But he (Fernando Valente) got rid of me for no reason.”
Valente’s decision to bring in Guevara into the fold was the straw that broke the camel’s back for Ichaka, who subsequently ended his contract with Arema. The lanky defender has now returned to Al Ansar, currently 4th in the Lebanese top-flight, however Ichaka still follows any development coming out from Arema until this day.