More than a week after Rayan Ait-Nouri left Algeria’s training camp unexpectedly, his father has confirmed there had been an earlier dispute involving Anthar Yahia.
The Manchester City defender has yet to give his own account of the incident, but several competing explanations have emerged since he departed the squad. His father, Farouk Ait-Nouri, has now acknowledged speaking to journalist Rafik Ouahid of El Khabar and said he believed his son had been treated unfairly.
The controversy appeared to begin on 25 September, when Ait-Nouri was an unused substitute during Algeria’s 3-1 win over Zambia. He reportedly showed his frustration after being sent to warm up, only for Brahim Hemdani to change his plans.
The situation then escalated during an exchange with general manager Moussa Saib. The following day, the Federation Algerienne de Football (FAF) announced that the player had been excluded from the training camp.
However, according to Ouahid, the disagreement dated back to 22 August and centred primarily on Anthar Yahia, who is an assistant to Hemdani.
At that time, Hemdani had not yet been appointed Algeria manager. Yahia, a former captain of the Fennecs, is said to have tried to contact Ait-Nouri. When the player did not respond, Yahia reportedly called his father to warn that his limited playing time at Manchester City could affect his chances of being selected.
Farouk Ait-Nouri is understood to have replied that the issue should be discussed directly with his son. Ouahid also reported that the father was deeply unhappy at the prospect of Ait-Nouri being left out of the squad.
He has since confirmed the conversation with the journalist, while playing down the scale of the dispute.
“I do not want this matter to grow too large. We are Algerians and we love Algeria like anyone else,” he said. He added that he simply believed his son had been “unjustly treated”.
There are also conflicting accounts of how Ait-Nouri left the camp. Winwin reported that the player had asked to leave himself, while the coaching staff had initially wanted to settle the matter.
Journalist Samir Kaabouche said Hemdani and Yahia were now waiting for an official apology from the player before considering his return to the Fennecs.
Ait-Nouri is expected to address the controversy on 6 October, after Algeria’s friendly against Niger, with several Algerian sources reporting that he intends to explain his version of events.
His statement will be closely watched after videos circulated without their full context, differing accounts were published and members of his entourage became involved. At 25 and with 28 international caps, Ait-Nouri remains one of the leading players of Algeria’s emerging generation, making reconciliation potentially important to both sides.
