The 2022 World Cup in Qatar is going to be without one of soccer’s biggest stars, and Egypt supporters aren’t going to be particularly pleased with how the World Cup failure went down … and for good reason.
Senegal defeated Egypt in penalties on Tuesday in the second leg of their CAF qualifiers for the World Cup. Just as Senegal defeated Egypt in February to win the AFCON final, Sadio Mane buried the decisive penalty to send Senegal to Qatar.
But it was the penalty attempt from Mane’s Liverpool teammate Mo Salah that had plenty of fans taking issue. As Salah readied himself for his attempt from the spot, we could see dozens of green lasers pointed all around his face in an effort to blind and distract him. Salah would sky the penalty over the goal, and it was easy to understand why.
I mean, just look at this. Salah sails his penalty over… and surely anybody would, given the lasers.
Mane scores, Senegal wins the shootout, Egypt out of the World Cup pic.twitter.com/tgHmCmW8uu
— Henry Bushnell (@HenryBushnell) March 29, 2022
Just yikes. The official saw that and let play continue.
As much as penalty attempts are muscle memory, you’d ideally like to be able to see the ball before you strike it.
According to FIFA, the responsibility to prevent laser pointers falls on the host, which could result in disciplinary measures taken against the Senegal team — potentially, having them replay the shootout behind closed doors.
Via Input:
“As stated in the FIFA Stadium Safety and Security Regulations, laser pointers are considered prohibited items by FIFA and confiscated when the spectators are checked at the outer stadium perimeter,” a FIFA spokesperson tells Input. “When incidents happen within the applicable scope of FIFA’s Disciplinary Code, disciplinary measures may be taken based on article 16, paragraph 2,” which state that teams are liable for inappropriate behavior from their fans and they may be subject to disciplinary measures should they should show any negligence in stopping the “the use of laser pointers or similar electronic devices.”
Fans clearly weren’t pleased with how that situation was handled.