Mirror Uk
Egypt have filed an official complaint after their players were targeted with lasers and “racist” banners were held up during their World Cup qualifying defeat to Senegal.
The Africa Cup of Nations runners-up were dumped out of the tournament after a shootout defeat in Dakar, Senegal.
Lasers were shone at Egyptian stars throughout the game and during penalties, with three visiting players failing to convert from the spot.
One of which was Mohamed Salah, who blazed his effort way over the bar.
The Liverpool ace was then pelted with objects thrown by the home supporters as he was escorted down the tunnel by bodyguards at Senegal’s national stadium.
The first four penalties were missed on Tuesday evening before Sadio Mane – just as he did in the Africa Cup of Nations final – scored the winning spot kick.
“The Egyptian Football Association have lodged a formal complaint against its Senegalese counterpart to the match observer, the security official, CAF, and FIFA, before the start of the match between the two teams,” confirmed the federation at full-time.
“The Egyptian team was subjected to racism after the appearance of offensive banners in the stands aimed at the players, specifically Mohamed Salah.
“Moreover the Senegalese fans terrorised the Egyptian players by throwing bottles and stones at them during the warm-up, as well as attacking the Egyptian team bus, which caused glass shattering and some injuries, which was documented with pictures and videos attached to the complaint.”
Senegal, CAF and FIFA are yet to respond to Egypt’s complaint. The Egyptians were hopeful of reaching this year’s World Cup in Qatar after taking a 1-0 lead to Dakar, yet that was diminished early on when the ball deflected off Hamdi Fathi and into his own goal.
Neither side could find a winner after that, leaving penalties – and lasers – to decide their respective fates. Senegal have reached their second consecutive World Cup, their third overall. Egypt, meanwhile, have now qualified for just one of the last eight World Cups.
“Qatar, I am coming with my lions,” wrote Mane on Instagram. “See you soon.” Mane started all three of Senegal’s fixtures at the last World Cup in Russia, scoring against Japan. Senegal were knocked out knocked out in the group stage.
Just five African teams have qualified for the tournament in Qatar: Senegal, Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco and Tunisia. FIFA only provide the Confederation of African Football with five spots for the World Cup, compared to 13 for Europe’s governing body UEFA.
Cameroon knocked out Algeria on away goals following a 2-2 aggregate draw, while Ghana overcame Nigeria thanks to the same rule following a 1-1 aggregate draw. Morocco defeated DR Congo 5-2 on aggregate, while Tunisia edged Mali 1-0 on aggregate.
Cameroon will make their eighth appearance at the World Cup later this year, having previous qualified for the 1982, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2010 and 2014 editions of the competition. Morocco and Tunisia, meanwhile, have both reached their sixth finals.
And Ghana – who were famously denied a spot in the semi-finals in 2010 following Luis Suarez’s handball – will compete in their fourth edition.
