YAOUNDE (AFP) - Cameroon international striker Samuel Eto'o has been accused of headbutting a journalist during a heated Indomitable Lions press conference, according to press reports here on Saturday.

Local radio reporter Philippe Bony claimed that the 27-year-old Barcelona star headbutted him after tempers flared between journalists and Cameroon players on Friday.

Journalists refused to take part in the press conference in protest at the decision by team officials to limit their access to players during training sessions ahead of Saturday's African Nations Cup and 2010 World Cup qualifier against Cape Verde.

In the melee that followed, members of the Cameroon team confiscated television cameras and mobile phones, according to the journalists present.

"He (Eto'o) grabbed me round the neck, then headbutted me above the lip. My tooth has been loosened," Bony told AFP.

Bony also claimed that he had suffered a double hand fracture after being set upon by Eto'o's bodyguards. The journalist added that he intends to take legal action against the player.

Eto'o - who is reportedly in the middle of contract talks with London club Spurs - was not available for comment on Saturday.