The Egyptian FA have claimed that their captain Mohamed Salah and his team-mates were subjected to racism and other intimidation tactics during their World Cup play-off defeat by Senegal.
The match was a highly anticipated repeat of the African Cup of Nations final, involving Liverpool duo Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, and was nicely poised after last weeks 1-0 win for Egypt.
The tie finished up 1-1 on aggregate after an earlier own goal from Hamdi Fathi helped Senegal to a 1-0 win, bringing the match all the way to the spot; but everything was overshadowed by the behaviour of the Senegal fans.
The outrage began amongst football fans after a barrage of green lasers were shone into the face of Salah as he stepped up to take Egypt’s first spot kick. The Liverpool man subsequently missed, which had a big impact on the final result as Egypt lost 3-1 in the shootout.
In the aftermath of the match, the Egyptian FA released a statement via The Athletic on the events, stating:
“The Egypt national team have been exposed to racism with offensive signs in the stands against the Egyptian players in general, and Mohamed Salah in particular,” read the official statement.
“The crowd also intimidated the players by throwing bottles and rocks on them during the warm-up. The Egyptian group’s buses have also been exposed to assaults that led to broken windows and injuries; filed with pictures and videos as proof in the complaint submitted.”
It is fair to say Senegal utilised their home advantage and will now head to the World Cup for only the third time after last nights victory. However, the events that took place around the stadium can never be condoned and will overshadow the Senegal national teams achievement in the near future.
This Senegal team is the best the country has ever seen and should be celebrated for their recent achievements. It is a shame that some have interfered with that due to their antics.