Senegal have been hit with a £8,700 fine for breaking FIFA rules ahead of their game with England in the knockout stages of the World Cup.
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The Senegalese Football Federation found themselves in hot water for their actions before their victory over Ecuador. Their manager, Aliou Cisse, attended the pre-match press conference without a player from his team.
And FIFA rules state that the day before a game every team must conduct a presser in one of two press conference rooms at the main media centre with team’s manager needed to attend along with one player from his squad.
After Cisse attended alone, a FIFA statement read: “The Fifa Disciplinary Committee has sanctioned the Senegalese Football Federation with a fine in the amount 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 are not the only side to take a fine for breaching press conference rules. Germany boss Hansi Flick chose to do the same prior to their game with Spain and claimed he did not want to force a player into the three-hour round trip to the media centre from their base in the north of Qatar the day before a big game.
“It’s so important that they devote their energy to training,” Flick said. “I came alone because we didn’t want a player to spend three hours on the road to come. The 26 players are important and everyone has to focus on the game. I’m optimistic.”
Meanwhile, Senegal coach El Hadji Diouf has warned England they must not take his team lightly as they eye a huge World Cup upset on Sunday.
“It reminds me of when we played against France,” said Diouf. “They thought they’d won the game before they played it. If England do the same thing on Sunday, this is good for us.”
