www.foxsports.comPierre Wome said he is worried for his family's safety after missing a penalty that left Cameroon out of the World Cup finals.
"It's unbelievable that they destroyed cars and houses they thought were mine," Wome said after rejoining Inter Milan on Tuesday.
The Indomitable Lions, the first African team to reach the quarterfinals at the 1990 World Cup, needed only to beat visiting Egypt on Saturday to secure an African record sixth appearance in soccer's biggest tournament.
With the score level 1-1, Cameroon was awarded a penalty in the fifth minute of injury time. When Wome missed, Ivory Coast qualified instead.
Wome said he was also bothered by reported comments from FC Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o.
Tuesday's Gazzetta dello Sport quoted Eto'o as saying he was preparing to take the penalty when Wome waived him off.
"He told me he felt sure of scoring it," Eto'o was quoted as saying.
Wome remembers it differently.
"Nobody, not Eto'o, not our captain, wanted to take that penalty because they knew what could happen in case of an error," Wome said, according to Inter's Web site. "I've always been skilled (at penalties) and so I went up to the mark.
"At the end of the game I spoke with the police to see how my family was. They assured me they were being guarded," Wome said, adding that his family is still under security escort.
Wome was escorted out of the country by police and arrived in Milan on Monday.