Angry Egypt officials demand their decisive World Cup qualifier against Senegal is REPLAYED after Mo Salah was ‘attacked’ and targeted with lasers in ‘strange atmosphere’ before he missed crucial penalty in shootout loss
- Egypt were beaten on penalties by Senegal in Dakar in their World Cup play-off
- Mohamed Salah was targeted by missiles and lasers were pointed at his face
- Furious Egyptian FA have now requested for the decisive clash to be replayed
- Officials have claimed that the showdown was held in a ‘strange atmosphere’
A furious Egypt have asked for their decisive World Cup qualifier against Senegal to be replayed, after they aired their frustration at Mohamed Salah being ‘attacked’ and targeted with lasers by supporters in a ‘strange atmosphere’.
Salah and Co looked to defend their 1-0 lead from the first leg of the play-off in a bid to qualify for Qatar but, after Hamdi Fathi levelled up the tie with an own goal on four minutes, the clash was sent all the way to a penalty shootout.
And it was Senegal who guaranteed their spot at the showpiece later this year with a 3-1 win on spot-kicks, while Salah missed his spot-kick. While stepping up, however, several laser pointers were shone on his face, leading to him blazing over.
Egypt have been left with a sour taste from the manner in which they missed out on the World Cup, and a complaint has now been lodged with FIFA. Sensationally, this also includes a request to replay the match.
The head of the Egyptian FA, Gamal Allam, said, as quoted by Youm7 Sport: ‘Hani Abu Rida, Hassan Mustafa and the Egyptian officials in the African and International Federations must intervene to support the Egyptian team.
Egypt have asked for their decisive World Cup qualifying clash against Senegal to be replayed
Salah was escorted off the pitch by security guards after being pelted by missiles from fans
‘I am on my way to Qatar to attend the FIFA Congress on Thursday afternoon.
‘We asked to meet FIFA President Gianni Infantino as well as Patrice Motsepe, President of the Confederation of African Football.
‘We asked for a replay of the match because the match was held in a strange atmosphere, and if we had lost in normal circumstances, we would have congratulated Senegal.
‘We will present what happened to the disciplinary committee in the Federation and await a response. There are many things that happened with us in the match.
Superstar Salah had laser pointers shone onto his face before he missed his crucial penalty
The light from the lasers was visible on the pitch ahead of Salah sending his spot-kick over
‘Our players were attacked. Mohamed Salah had the most share of the Senegalese fans’ attack on him, which tried to intimidate the players as well, and we asked that the board of directors be on the bench of the match but they refused.’
Egypt’s complaint also alleged that players, in particular Salah, were racially abuse, had objects hurled at them during the warm-up and their bus attacked.
FIFA revealed they will examine match reports before deciding on the next steps.
‘FIFA is currently in the process of analysing the official match reports of the FIFA World Cup qualifier match between Senegal and Egypt,’ their statement read.
Officials protected Liverpool man Salah while objects were aimed at him as he left the pitch
The relevant information included in the match reports will be evaluated by the competent disciplinary bodies before deciding on the next steps to be taken.’
Meanwhile, the result means that Salah will not be present in Qatar this winter – and the superstar has given no assurances that he will continue with Egypt into 2024.
‘I am honoured that I played with you and I am very proud to play with you, whether I am with you or not in the future,’ he told team-mates in a clip on social media.
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