Egypt Demands Replay of World Cup Play-off After Senegal Supporters' Laser Attack on Captain Salah

Mohamed Salah's dream of making a meaningful contribution in a World Cup has yet to be fulfilled. He wasn't fully fit during the 2018 competition in Russia and saw his side exit at the group stage. And on Tuesday, Egypt failed to qualify for this year's tournament in Qatar, losing to Senegal in controversial fashion.
Sputnik
Senegal's laser attack on Egypt's captain Mohamed Salah, resulting in his failure to deliver his penalty, has forced his side to demand for a replay of their World Cup play-off.
The Pharaohs already had one foot in the quadrennial event, having won the first leg of their qualification fixture against Senegal 1-0, and they looked confident to secure their place in Qatar, but lost to the visitors in dramatic fashion in a penalty shootout.
Although players of both teams missed the initial four penalties, it was Salah's Liverpool colleague Sadio Mane who produced the decisive strike to claim victory for Senegal.
But Senegal's triumph came against the backdrop of their home supporters flashing laser lights on Salah and Egyptian goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shenawy, with the Liverpool forward receiving the majority of the abuse at the Diamniadio Olympic Stadium.
Salah's mistreatment didn't stop there as Senegalese fans threw objects at him when security was escorting him off the pitch after the match.
Subsequently, the Egyptian football association revealed that racist banners were also put out at the match venue, mocking Salah and his teammates.
Seeing such an insult to their players, the country's FA said in a statement that they have submitted a written complaint to FIFA about the whole episode, including a request to replay the tie.

"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," Gamal Allam, Egypt's FA chief was quoted by newspaper, Youm7 Sport, as saying.

"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," he added.
The home team's admirers were perhaps not in their right mind as there was mayhem before, during and after the match.
Gama disclosed that Egypt's team bus was attacked before the match with fans hurling objects and breaking the windscreen of the vehicle as it left for the stadium from the hotel.
"We will present what happened to the Federation's disciplinary committee and await a response. There are many things that happened with us in the match. Our players were attacked," the sports administrator continued.
"Mohamed Salah had the lion's 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," Gama concluded.
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