South African referee opens up for the first time on viral incident with Mo Salah during AFCON final

• Referee Victor Gomes has opened up on the viral incident involving himself and Mohammed Salah during the Africa Cup of Nations final
• Gomes gained global recognition for his firm, yet hilarious stance on Mo Salah when the Egyptian tried to confront him
• Days after the incident, the match official said trying to hand over a yellow card and whistle to Mo Salah was “the appropriate way to deal with him”

South African referee Victor Gomes says he needed to treat Liverpool superstar Mohammed Salah with the necessary respect in the Africa Cup of Nations final.

The referee went viral on social media after a photo of him seemingly attempting to give Salah his officiating tools surfaced.

In a comical yet respectable moment, Gomes made a stern statement amid Salah’s protests by gesturing to the Egyptian superstar to officiate the game if he felt decisions were not going his way.

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Among South Africans, Gomes is known for his no-nonsense and straight talk to players when it comes to officiating matches.

Speaking after the viral incident during the Egypt-Senegal final, Gomes said he needed to put the game first, while showing superstars like Salah the necessary respect.

“I respect the players that I officiate with and I don’t like to talk about the decisions I make on the field,” Gomes told Sport24.

“However, I do like to highlight some points for educational purposes and I also believe we have a responsibility to report positively on football matters so that our work is understood.

“Football has evolved tremendously and so have the players, who are highly respected and paid. Refereeing also has to evolve in that manner.

“We can’t stick to the old adage of officiating in a set way and style. All I can say is that on Sunday, I chose to manage a top-class player in a way I thought it would be deemed appropriate and responsible.

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“Football was the ultimate winner on the day.”

How the final went

In what was a tense final, neither of the two nations could find the net in 120 minutes of football, prompting the game to go to a penalty shootout.

Egypt would go on to miss two of their first four penalties, and Sadio Mane fired in the final spot kick to ultimately give Senegal its first AFCON title.

Salah never got to take a penalty in the shootout.

Salah vs referee during Cameroon game

Interestingly, this was not the only incident involving Salah and match officials in the Africa Cup of Nations.

During the semi-final clash against Cameroon, which Egypt won via penalties, Salah also vented out his frustration at Gambian referee Bakary Papa Gassama at the end of 90 minutes.

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.