BBC Sport have confirmed that an official racism claim has been submitted by the Egypt national team following their World Cup qualifying exits at the hands of Senegal.
Senegal Fans Accused After Racism Claim Submitted by Egypt
Egypt have lodged an official complaint, claiming their team was subjected to racism by Senegal fans.
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— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) March 30, 2022
Terrorised
Senegal knocked Egypt out at the qualifying stage of the World Cup in a controversial match in Dakar where laser pens were shone into players’ faces during the decisive penalty shoot out. Laser pens had also been used in the first leg.
On top of this, there has been an allegation of racist behaviour from Senegal fans as well as the Egypt team bus being attacked.
Statement
The Egyptian Football Association has confirmed that they have submitted a formal complaint to FIFA and the Confederation of African Football as well as the security officials and match observation team.
In a statement, they said: “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.
“The crowd also intimidated the players by throwing bottles and rocks on them during the warm-up.
“The Egyptian group’s busses have also been exposed to assaults that led to broken windows and injuries; filed with pictures and videos as proof in the complaint submitted.”
Mohammed Salah
Liverpool’s Salah blasted his penalty over the bar after lasers were shone right in his face and when the shoot out concluded he had to be escorted down the tunnel as supporters threw objects down from the stands in ugly scenes. FIFA are now looking into the claims and what happened before making any decisions on disciplinary action.
Senegal Response
The response from the Senegal side has come from the President of the Senegalese Federation, Augustin Senghor who says he will wait to see what the official reports state.
In a statement Mr Senghor said: “From the stands, I didn’t pay attention to the projectiles thrown. About the lasers, if it happened this is a first in Senegal. But we know that in Cairo there were a lot of these and [they are used] often in specific countries. Senegal isn’t used to that.”
He went to add that Senegal is a welcoming country and claims of discrimination come as a surprise to him;
“In my opinion, I didn’t see during this game something that could be considered as chauvinism because the Senegalese are known to be very welcoming.”
A FIFA spokesperson told Sky Sports News: “FIFA is currently in the process of analysing the official match reports of the FIFA World Cup qualifier match between Senegal and Egypt.
“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.”
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