Mohamed Salah hints at international retirement following penalty miss

Callum Boyle

Salah gave an emotional speech to his Egypt teammates

Mohamed Salah has heavily suggested that he could retire from international football following Egypt’s failure to qualify for the 2022 World Cup.

Salah missed from the spot as Egypt lost to Senegal in a penalty shoot-out as his Liverpool teammate Sadio Mané scored the decisive penalty to book their place in Qatar.

‘It was a privilege to play alongside you, whether I’ll be here or not afterwards’

Footage after the match has shown an emotional Salah speaking to the rest of the Egypt squad following their disappointment, when he hinted that he may no longer play at international level.

“I told the players this and I will say it again,” said Salah.

“I told them before the second leg that I am proud to play with you. You’re some of the most dedicated players I’ve played with.

“I played with the previous generation with Wael Gomaa and Mohamed Aboutrika and then with Abdallah El-Said and the following generation and I can say I am happy with the current generation.

“I’m proud to have played with you and it was a privilege to play alongside you and what happened was out of our control because they were penalty shoot-outs and for the second time.

“There’s not much I can say but it was a privilege to play alongside you, whether I’ll be here or not afterwards.”

"There’s not much I can say, but it was a privilege to play alongside you, whether I’ll be here or not afterwards" 🗨️

Mohamed Salah's speech to the players after losing against Senegal on penalties in the World Cup qualifiers 🗣️@MoSalah | #LFC pic.twitter.com/XOhBj9CI74

— KingFut.com (@King_Fut) March 30, 2022

Senegal could face punishment

Senegal meanwhile could be facing punishment from FIFA after a number of their fans shone lasers in the eyes of Egyptian players during the shoot-out.

Salah in particular was targeted with lasers clearly impairing his vision as he took and missed his penalty before being escorted down the tunnel at half-time.

We've seen fewer lasers at raveshttps://t.co/Bm39xhnd9m

— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) March 29, 2022

A FIFA spokesperson said, as per Sky Sports: “FIFA is currently in the process of analysing the official match reports of the FIFA World Cup qualifier match between Senegal and Egypt.

“The relevant information included in the match reports will be evaluated by the competent disciplinary bodies before deciding on the next steps to be taken.”

The Egyptian FA also claimed that they were subject to racist abuse from the stands during the game and that their bus was attacked before the game.

A statement from the FA said: “The Egypt national team have been exposed to racism with offensive signs in the stands against the Egyptian players in general, and Mohamed Salah in particular.

“The crowd also intimidated the players by throwing bottles and rocks on them during the warm-up.

“The Egyptian group’s busses have also been exposed to assaults that led to broken windows and injuries; filed with pictures and videos as proof in the complaint submitted.”

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