By Martin Etonge BBC Sport, Yaounde

Cameroon have won the Cup of Nations four times, including Mali 2002

A leading Cameroon Football Federation (Fecafoot) official has refuted reports that a crisis is rocking the national team.

Following the Indomitable Lions' poor results in the first half of 2006 World Cup qualifying, stories have been circulating in Cameroon of indiscipline in the national squad.

Group Three table

With the team lying four points adrift of Group Three leaders the Ivory Coast, Cameroonian newspapers have published tales alleging that players are refusing to turn out for the national team and that German coach Winfried Schaefer is losing his authority.

Yet Fecafoot's deputy secretary general, Prince Ndoki Mukete, has denied the reports.

"To the best of our knowledge there is no conflict in the team between the players and their coaches," he told BBC Sport.

"The players have not attacked the authority of the coach or that of the skipper, Rigobert Song, as rumours carry it.

"Schaefer has complete control of his team."

If the stories persist, we will have to do an investigation. Things could be happening behind our backs Fecafoot official Prince Ndoki Mukete

However, Mukete stated that Fecafoot may not be in possession of all the relevant information.

"If the stories persist, we will have to do an investigation," the deputy secretary general explained.

"Many things could be happening behind our backs."

In a recent interview with the local daily Cameroon Tribune, Schaefer seemed to confirm the tales of indiscipline in the national team.

The German revealed that African Footballer of the Year Samuel Eto'o, who plays for Spanish league leaders Barcelona, has contemplated quitting the Indomitable Lions because of problems plaguing the team.

"It is not possible for someone like Samuel Eto'o to think about quitting the team after our victory against Ivory Coast [in July 2004]," he told the newspaper.

"I had to personally go to Barcelona to plead with him to return.

"It is because there are problems that the thought of leaving the Indomitable Lions occurred to Eto'o".

While the media and Cameroon fans are blaming Schaefer for the problems and poor performance of the team, the coach has laid the blame on the administrators.