‘ You’re corrupt ‘- Senegal midfielder Krepin Diatta accuses CAF officials of corruption following AFCON defeat to Ivory Coast
Senegal star Krepin Diatta has accused CAF officials of corruption after their 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) round of 16 loss to tournament hosts, Ivory Coast on Monday, January 29, 2024.
The Monaco star in a moment of frustration and anger after Senegal’s shocking elimination from the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) at the hands of Ivory Coast in the round of 16 accused CAF (Confederation of African Football) officials of corruption, particularly criticizing the VAR decisions during the match.
According to Diatta, Senegal was denied a penalty in regular time when Odilon Kossounou’s challenge on Ismaila Sarr inside the box went unnoticed by the referee and VAR team while the hosts found their equalizer from the spot to take the game beyond regulation time.
The match ended 1-1 after extra time, with Ivory Coast winning 5-4 in the penalty shootout.
For Diatta, that match would not have gone to a shootout if Senegal were awarded a penalty within regulation time. Odilon Kossounou seemed to have fouled Ismaila Sarr inside the box but the referee decided against pointing to the spot, with the VAR team not calling him over to review the incident via the pitch-side monitor, which left Diatta raging.
According to GOAL, while passing through the mixed zone, Diatta told reporters: “You’ve killed us, you’re corrupt! Keep your African Cup! You go and consult VAR to give them a penalty, but a guy (Sarr) runs 40 metres, overlaps, breaks into the box and you can’t go and look at the VAR. I’m sorry, but it’s ridiculous. I’m really sorry, but they’ve killed our competition there.”
Meanwhile, that was not the only contentious moment in the game, Senegal star, Sadio Mane was shown a yellow card for a shin tackle on Ibrahim Sangare in the first half of the match.
The defeat saw the defending champions, Senegal, exit the competition, while Ivory Coast, led by interim coach Emerse Fae, advanced to the quarter-finals.
Ivory Coast will face the winners of the match between Mali and Burkina Faso in the AFCON quarter-finals on February 3 at Stade de la Paix in Bouake.
