Abud Omar Lifts Lid on Indiscipline in Harambee Stars Camp as He Opens Up on Fight With Eric Johana

Harambee Stars defender Abud Omar has revealed how players exhibited ill-behaviour during the era of former coach Engin Firat.

Omar, who has been involved in a number of controversies while with the national team, claims some of those incidents were not of his own making but a result of indiscipline in camp.

One of the high-profile incidents happened in March 2024, when Omar and attacking midfielder Eric Johana were involved in an altercation that led to a fist fight between the two players, who would later be kicked out of camp ahead of a Four-Nations tournament in Malawi.

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On what led to the fight, the Kenya Police left-back says he felt provoked by Johana, who was then playing in Romania.

“On that day, the mistake Eric made was to come to camp while drunk and there were people supporting him,” Omar disclosed on TikiTaka Show.

“However, for me it was during the Holy month of Ramadan so we woke up at 2am to eat and by 3am we are leaving. While we were eating, he [Johana] came and claimed Police players are snitches. He was then asked who he had a problem with and he said it was me.

“He was talking while coming towards me and so we started exchanging words and that is when I threw the first punch. Everyone was watching, including the coach. It was a big case and then it was decided that both of us would be dropped.”

The 33-year-old feels Firat did not clamp down on poor behaviour within camp and could have averted such incidents, which also contributed to lack of harmony among the squad and poor performances on the pitch.

“In that camp, players were coming drunk. The coach did not allow it but if you do not take action, it will go on,” he further said. “It would hurt me when we lost because I have struggled so much and then we have players who do not seem to feel and see it.”

“Yes, it was right to kick us out of camp but I think he [Firat] should have addressed that issue of players coming to camp drunk. He was a good coach but I felt he should have tackled those issues early.”

Omar also feels Johana was a repeat offender who was lucky to be receiving national team call-ups.

“That was the second camp where Eric came while drunk. The other one was before the Seychelles game, he was drunk until he was carried to the plane,” Omar went on.

“The second time they said we are leaving at 3 o’clock and no one should come under the influence but he still came drunk.

“After some time, we did well at our respective clubs and we were recalled. The coach talked to us ahead of the Burundi and Ivory Coast games but when it was time to travel, he [Johana] was not in camp again.”

Omar says he has since solved his issues with Johana and also credits the former Mathare United star for changing his ways with discipline and professionalism now restored under current Harambee Stars coach Benni McCarthy.