Senegal’s football federation has admitted that the team doctor at the World Cup lacked the specialist background needed to support the squad, adding another layer to a disappointing tournament for the West African side.
Federation president Abdoulaye Fall told a press conference on Monday that the issue came to light late and left players uneasy about the medical care available to them.
“Based on the feedback I received, the players were not sufficiently reassured about being supported by him,” Fall said.
Fall said the doctor was “trained as a gynaecologist,” a revelation that pushed the federation to act quickly.
“We had to find convincing expertise so they could feel reassured, because health comes before everything,” Fall said. The federation brought in additional medical expertise to address the players’ concerns.
The Senegalese Association of Sports Medicine pushed back hard against the claims. In a statement issued late on Monday, the association called the allegations “unfounded and defamatory.”
The association said the team doctor, Abderahmane Fediore, holds a specialist diploma in sports medicine and sports biology from Cheikh Anta Diop University’s faculty of medicine. It added that Fediore previously led the physiotherapy department at Fann Hospital and has served as Senegal’s team doctor since 2017, covering three World Cups and five Africa Cup of Nations tournaments.
The dispute comes days after Senegal fired coach Pape Bouna Thiaw on Saturday, with the federation citing the team’s World Cup results as the reason for the change.
Senegal had entered the tournament with high hopes after beating Morocco in January’s Africa Cup of Nations final. Those hopes faded quickly in North America.
The team lost its opening two group games to France and Norway, then let a 2-0 lead slip in the final five minutes against Belgium in the last 32 before losing 3-2 in extra time.
