Gabon’s sports ministry has taken drastic action in the wake of the Panthers’ disastrous Africa Cup of Nations campaign, announcing the suspension of the entire national team, the dismissal of the coaching staff, and the banning of senior players Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Bruno Ecuele Manga.

The decision followed Gabon’s dramatic 3–2 defeat to defending champions Ivory Coast on Wednesday, sealed by Bazoumana Touré’s injury-time winner. It capped a miserable tournament for the Panthers, who suffered three defeats from three matches and finished bottom of Group F, behind Ivory Coast, Cameroon and Mozambique.

“Given the Panthers’ disgraceful performance at the AFCON, the government has decided to dissolve the technical staff, suspend the national team until further notice, and remove players Bruno Ecuele Manga and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang,” Sports Minister Simplice-Désiré Mamboula said in a televised address late on Wednesday.

The announcement briefly disappeared from official platforms before being republished on Thursday, adding to the sense of turmoil surrounding Gabonese football.

The national team’s showing was reviewed by the Council of Ministers after Sunday’s 3–2 loss to 102nd-ranked Mozambique, a result that confirmed Gabon’s early exit from the tournament. Aubameyang subsequently returned to his club, Marseille, with a thigh injury.

President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema also weighed in on the crisis, describing the team’s collapse as a blow to the country’s sense of pride. “This has weakened part of our national identity,” he said in a statement released on Wednesday.

“The national team highlights two major problems: the lack of method and the dispersion of resources,” the president added, promising “strong and structural decisions” to restore discipline, responsibility and ambition to Gabonese sport.

However, the sweeping measures could place Gabon on a collision course with FIFA, which strictly prohibits government interference in the running of national football associations.