It’s never easy moving to a new country. Chancel Mbemba can attest to that, after The Mirror revealed that he feared that he had been kidnapped when he got into the wrong taxi prior to the Southampton game.
The 21-year old believed he was getting into a club-hired taxi from the Hilton Hotel to St. James’ Park. Instead, the driver was booked to go to a local supermarket in the city.
The driver then tried to explain this to the DR Congo international but failed due to the language barrier. Mbemba was said to panic after seeing the car go past the stadium and towards the supermarket.
Keen not to be late for his first game, Chancel then rang club officials, before getting through to the translator who assured him he had just stepped into the wrong taxi and was not being kidnapped.
The translator spoke to the cab driver and explained the situation. The player made it to the ground on time and afterwards was reportedly seen to find amusement in the whole situation.
The source, as quoted by The Mirror, said: “It all turned out fine in the end as he had an outstanding game and was very pleased with his debut. But he really did think he was being abducted at one stage and the whole situation was difficult because of the language barrier.
“It was funny afterwards but hard for him at the time. The driver apparently thought he had the right fare.”
Kidnapping is common in his homeland of Congo and the whole situation must have shaken up the defender slightly. However, he did not show it during the game against Southampton as he was one of Newcastle’s more impressive players during the 2-2 draw.
With the huge amount of foreign players in the Premier League, this type of story must happen all the time. It’s just not every day that they make their way into the press.
