Seneglaese Football Federation (SFF) president Mbaye Ndoye blamed refereeing for his side's 2-1 defeat to hosts Egypt in the African Cup of Nations semi-finals on Tuesday. Ndoye told reporters after the game that Senegal were denied a clear penalty-kick in the closing stages of the match, stressing that it could have changed the result. "We won't sumbit any complaint because we were playing the host nation who should advance to the final," an angry Ndoye said. The controverisal play took place just two minutes from the stoppage time when Diomansy Kamara was brought down in the area by Ibrahim Saied. Cameroonian referee Divine Evehe waved away Senegal's for the spot-kick.
Kamara echoed Ndoye's discontent with the referee's decision. "Things don't work as they should do in Africa," Kamara told reporters. "It was the turning point of the game as we would have drawn level." "However Egypt is the host nation and that is clearly the advantage," an angry Kamara said. Meanwhile, coach Abdoulaye Sarr congragulated the Egyptian team for reaching the African final. Sarr thanked the Egyptian fans who supported Senegal throughout the tournament and hailed the hosts' efforts in organizing the African Cup.
