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Senegal Football Federation (FSF) president Abdoulaye Fall has claimed that the national team's doctor was "trained as a gynaecologist", saying the revelation raised concerns among players during the FIFA World Cup 2026 and forced the federation to bring in additional medical expertise, reported Reuters.
Reviewing Senegal's disappointing World Cup campaign at a press conference on Monday, Fall said the issue came to light late in the tournament and affected the players' confidence in the medical support available to them. "Based on the feedback I received, the players were not sufficiently reassured about being supported by him," Fall said, according to Reuters. According to the federation chief, steps were taken to strengthen the team's medical support during the tournament. "We had to find convincing expertise so they could feel reassured, because health comes before everything," said Fall. The claims were swiftly rejected by the Senegalese Association of Sports Medicine, which described the allegations as "unfounded and defamatory" in a statement issued later on Monday. The association said team doctor Abderahmane Fediore holds a specialist diploma in sports medicine and sports biology from the Faculty of Medicine at Cheikh Anta Diop University. It also noted that he previously headed the physiotherapy department at Fann Hospital and has served as Senegal's national team doctor since 2017, working at three FIFA World Cups and five Africa Cup of Nations tournaments. The controversy comes just days after the FSF dismissed head coach Pape Bouna Thiaw following Senegal's disappointing World Cup campaign. Under Thiaw, Senegal had emerged as one of Africa's strongest national teams, completing their FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign unbeaten before lifting the Africa Cup of Nations title by defeating Morocco in the final. However, the Lions of Teranga failed to live up to expectations at the FIFA World Cup 2026. They lost their opening two group-stage matches to France and Norway, but defeated Iraq 5-0 to enter the Round of 32 where they lost to Belgium 2-3 in extra time. Thiaw, who represented Senegal as a player during the country's historic run to the 2002 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals, was relieved of his duties on Saturday last week. The FSF is yet to announce his replacement, with preparations now set to shift towards the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations and the FIFA World Cup 2030. (ANI)
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