AFCON 2021: Video of Mo Salah in Heated Row with Referee During Cameroon Clash Goes Viral

AFCON 2021: Video of Mo Salah in Heated Row with Referee During Cameroon Clash Goes Viral

Rene Otinga
updated at April 12, 2023 at 7:55 PM
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  • Salah engaged in a heated argument with the referee during the clash against Cameroon on Thursday, February 4
  • The Liverpool star was agitated by something and he made his feelings clear to Gambian referee Bakary Papa, who remained unmoved
  • Egypt beat Cameroon via penalties to advance to the AFCON final where they will face Senegal on Sunday

Mohammed Salah was engaged in a heated argument with the referee during the Africa Cup of Nations semi-final clash against Cameroon on Thursday, February 3.

Egypt needed yet another penalty shootout to get past Cameroon, who had the better chances in 90 minutes.

But when it boiled down to penalties, the tournament hosts were woeful as Harold Moukoudi, James Lea Siliki and Clinton N’Jie all missed their spot-kicks as the Pharaohs set up a showdown against Senegal in the final.

Mo Salah
Salah was angry with the referee for some reason during Egypt's clash against Cameroon. Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images
Source: Getty Images

This time, Cameroon’s poor penalties meant Mo Salah did not need to kick a ball to ensure his side proceeded to the final.

It was not the Liverpool man’s best game as he was a passenger for most of the game and even managed to miss a glorious chance in the first half after a defensive error from Cameroon.

When one on one with an onrushing Andre Onana, Salah somehow had a poor first touch, enabling the goalkeeper to kick the ball away from danger.

Salah vs ref

Such was the night for Salah, who was a frustrated figure for most of the game, and he took out some of his feelings on Gambian referee Bakary Papa Gassama at the end of 90 minutes.

In the video that has gone viral on social media, an animated Salah is seen having a word with the referee, who seems unbothered by how wound up the Egyptian is.

Despite Salah venting in some serious anger, the ref, alongside two of his officials usher the Egyptian away in scenes that are simply interesting to watch.

Salah went to the lengths of attempting the classic eye intimidation to make his point but the Gassama did not back down one bit.

Notably, Salah was not the only frustrated person in the Egypt camp on Thursday.

Late in the second half, coach Carlos Queiroz was sent off and will subsequently not be in the touchline for the final against Cameroon.

Diaa al-Sayed wants AFCON final delayed

Meanwhile, Sports Brief earlier reported of Egypt assistant coach Diaa al-Sayed's request to have the Africa Cup of Nations final delayed to allow his players time to recover and prepare.

Egypt have needed extra time in all three of their AFCON knockout ties, including the recent win over Cameroon

Speaking after the game, Diaa Al-Sayed appealed to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to push the final to Monday to allow his team to have ample time to rest.

Authors
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Rene Otinga
Rene Otinga is a sports journalist with over eight years of working experience in digital media. Rene's experience includes working as a Copywriter at X News Kenya and TUKO.co.ke.