Football

World Cup 2022: Senegal found in breach of World Cup regulations

November 30, 2022 7:27 pm

Despite setbacks, Aliou Cissé has engineered Senegal’s place in the Round of 16. They take on the challenge of England in the knockout round but have to deal with a FIFA investigation.

Senegal World Cup

It has been confirmed that the Senegalese FA is facing a probe for their failure to comply with World Cup regulations. 

However, prior to that game, it was confirmed on Wednesday morning that the Senegalese FA face a FIFA probe for not complying with World Cup regulations prior to the Ecuador game.

It is stipulated that every team in the competition should hold a “Matchday -1 Press Conference” in one of the two press conference rooms at the World Cup’s main media centre. There are held a day before their matches and must have a team coach or a squad player in attendance. 

It was Krepin Diatta who appeared alongside Cisse before their match against the Netherlands. Kalidou Koulibaly accompanied the head coach ahead of their duel with Qatar. However, no one from the squad made it to the press meeting. 

In an official confirmation, FIFA shared on Wednesday morning that the matter is under their consideration and have opened disciplinary proceedings.

“The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has opened proceedings against the Senegalese Football Federation due to the potential breaches of article 44 of the Regulations for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, article 2.7.2 of the Media and Marketing Regulations and article 8.5.3 of the Team Handbook,” they said in a statement.

“The potential breaches relate to the mandatory press conference that took place on 28 November ahead of the Ecuador v. Senegal FIFA World Cup™ match.”

This is not the first time that it has happened in the Qatar edition. Germany has already been found guilty of not living up to the standards and were fined 10,000 Swiss Francs (around £8,800) as a result. 

With Germany struggling to give a decent account of their abilities, Hansi flick wanted to remove any distractions from their surroundings. The manager didn’t want a player making the three-hour round trip to the Qatar National Convention Centre and preferred to take the wrath of FIFA instead.

Resilient Lions of Taranga shine in Qatar

Senegal has landed themselves in hot water but will not be concerned with the monetary repercussions. Despite the odds, they managed to book a knockout meeting with England at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor and will be patting themselves on their back.

It was always going to be a tough task for the African champions who lost Sadio Mane before a ball was kicked in Qatar. A 2-0 defeat to kickstart their adventures in the Arab-Gulf nation further exacerbated affairs. 

The Lions impressed in their 1-3 dismantling of hosts Qatar in Round 2. Bamba Dieng, Famara Diedhiou and Boulaye Dia scored for the African outfit while Mohammed Muntari got on the scoreboard for the Qataris.

The result set up a knockout fixture in their final group outing against Ecuador. A draw would have been curtains for their adventures in the World Cup and only a victory would have seen them progress. 

Ismaila Sarr opened the proceedings in the first half before Moises Caicedo equalized in the second half. The African stars wrestled control of the match and Kalidou Koulibaly rose to the occasion with his first goal for his country. 

The Senegalese will be unfazed by the fine and surely a repeat of their antics is expected if it gives them an edge over the English.

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