Senegal FA has been fined £8,700 by FIFA for defying press conference protocols ahead of their World Cup last-16 clash with England.
World football body, FIFA, has booked one of Africa’s influential representatives, Senegal, at the ongoing 2022 Qatar World Cup Tournament.
The West African nation received a fine of £8,700 after Senegal head coach Aliou Cisse defiled FIFA’s pre-match press conference rule.
According to FIFA’s policy, it’s a mandate that the day before a game, every team must conduct a presser in one of two press conference rooms at the main media center in the host country. And this press conference must be attended by the team’s head coach, along with one player from his squad, often the captain.
However, Coach Aliou Cisse attended his pre-match press conference ahead of their last group match against Ecuador without a player from his team. His team went on to win the game 2-1.
Whereas, before their first two matches against Qatar and Netherlands, Aliou Cisse went to press conferences with Krepin Diatta and Kalidou Koulibaly respectively.
Having reported earlier that the Senegalese are likely to be booked for their coach misdemeanor, FIFA has confirmed the development via an official statement.
FIFA’s official statement read: “The Fifa Disciplinary Committee has sanctioned the Senegalese Football Federation with a fine of CHF 10,000 and a warning for 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.
“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.”
Senegal received a £100 lesser fine than Germany who was hit with an £8,800 penalty for the same offense before their draw against Spain.
German boss Hansi Flick claimed he did not bring any of his players with him to the press conference because his squad is based in the north of Qatar.
And he opted not to force any of his players to make the three-hour round trip to the media house the day before their crucial match against Spain.
Aliou Cisse’s men will give it their all to remain in the tournament when they face Gareth Southgate’s hungry Three Lions squad.
Having qualified from group A with two victories and one defeat, the Senegalese, though not named among the favorites, have proved themselves to be one of the crucial teams to win the World Cup trophy.
It remains to be seen how Cisse would steer his team to victory against a very strong opponent and one of the World’s best teams, England.
Senegal will lock horns in a crucial clash with England on Sunday, December 4. The match will take place at Al Bayt Stadium with kickoff scheduled for 20:00 BST.
