Goal celebration falls victim to politics: Footballer's contract terminated!

Rwanda's Rayon Sports Football Club has terminated the contract of Congolese midfielder Heritier Luvumbu on the grounds that he gave a "political message" after scoring a goal.

According to reports in the local press, Luvumbu's gesture of covering his mouth with his left hand and making a shooting motion with his hand after scoring from a free kick in the match against Police FC on Sunday, February 11, led to his departure from the Rayon Sports team.

The 29-year-old footballer returned to his home country, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, following the termination of his contract.

Rayon Sports initially condemned its player, but later issued a second statement, saying, "Rayon Sports and player Heritier Luvumbu have agreed to terminate the contract by mutual consent."

The Rwandan Football Federation had also handed the midfielder a 6-month ban on the grounds that "the use of political symbols or words in football is prohibited."

Tensions between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda have been escalating since last year. Both countries accuse each other of supporting rebels within their borders.