Following the statements made after Senegal’s defeat in the round of 16 against the host and reigning African champions, Ivory Coast, Senegalese international Krépin Diatta has been sanctioned by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
Despite the denial by the FSF, which eventually confirmed the sanctions, some Senegalese believe that the AS Monaco player should not be penalized. Taking note of this sentiment, Dakaractu reached out to various Senegalese individuals to gather their opinions.
Famara Traoré, a 27-year-old man found at his workplace, believes that CAF should not sanction Krépin Diatta. “CAF shouldn’t even consider penalizing our player because everyone saw what the referee did that day; not only should he have awarded a penalty to Ismaïla Sarr, but also on Mendy’s foul that led to the penalty for the goal that equalized the two teams, there was an offside position by Nicolas Pepe.
And what’s most distressing is that VAR didn’t even intervene on the possibility of Pepe being offside. CAF knows that the refereeing was not up to par, which is why the refereeing team was quickly sanctioned. Krépin did well to call them ‘corrupt’,” he insists.
A young football enthusiast named Ibrahima Seck, on the other hand, believes that CAF should take strict measures regarding refereeing. “It’s not uncommon for players to accuse referees of bias or corruption, especially in Africa. However, CAF must do everything to ensure that refereeing is transparent. But regarding a possible sanction against Krépin Diatta, I don’t have much to say, but everyone saw what happened that day,” laments the young man.
In contrast to the two other youths who side with the Senegalese player, Saliou Dia believes that even if the referee made mistakes, Krépin should be sanctioned. “We know very well that Krépin Diatta’s accusations against the referee were justified, but it wasn’t his role to publicly say it. It was the role of the Senegalese Football Federation to report the refereeing team to CAF.
Don’t forget that Krépin accused a sports institution (CAF) of corruption, and that’s serious when he doesn’t have concrete evidence. Regarding refereeing, personally, I think the referee should be sanctioned regardless because he poorly officiated that day. Because Sadio Mané should have received a red card, he (the referee) should have awarded the penalty to Ismaila Sarr, and for Ivory Coast’s penalty, there was an offside,” analyzed this football enthusiast interviewed by a Dakaractu reporter.
Leave a Reply