Senegal midfielder quits the national team unless head coach is sacked

News

FT Desk

Senegal midfielder Pape Gueye has sensationally quit the national team and has stated an intention not to return until the current management has left.

The nation are coached by Pape Thiaw, who made headlines around the world earlier this year when he encouraged his players to leave the field of play in protest during the Africa Cup of Nations final against Morocco after a late penalty was given against his side.

Senegal actually won the final but were subsequently stripped of the title due to the actions of the head coach and the players.

On Wednesday, they failed to progress to the last 16 of the World Cup despite being 2-0 up against Belgium with only four minutes of normal time remaining in the Round of 32 fixture.

Habib Diarra and Ismaila Sarr gave Senegal a deserved two-goal lead and the African side seemed destined to progress, but they fell apart late on as Romelu Lukaku scored with a neat finish high into the net before Youri Tielemans scrambled a header over the line to make it 2-2, with those goals coming within a space of five minutes before the final whistle.

Chances were exchanged over extra-time and a penalty shootout looked likely but there was still major drama to come as Belgium received a late penalty in controversial fashion after an alleged foul by Lamine Camara inside the area.

Tielemans stepped up to smash the penalty home as Belgium progressed and Senegalese hearts were broken.

Gueye has reacted by stepping away from the national team, citing the presence of Thiaw as his reason.

"I will come back to say a few words about the elimination... but I am announcing today that as long as this coaching staff is in place, I will be taking a break from the national team," the Villarreal midfielder said on social media.

Following the elimination, Thiaw reacted to the loss by saying that his team did not manage their 2-0 lead correctly.

“We couldn't manage the result at 2-0. The penalty, everyone can comment, I don't want to get into it," he told reporters.

“We had physical problems; there were players who couldn't take it anymore, so we were forced to make changes. You have to accept, it's football.”

Belgium will next face the United States in the Round of 32.