Senegal have been hit with an unexpected expense ahead of their upcoming World Cup Round of 16 clash with England. The reason for this is that in their group stage match against Ecuador, only the team leader, Aloysius, was present at the press conference, while the players did not show up, which violated the rules of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) and led to a fine of 10,000 euros.
FIFA has made it mandatory for every team to assign a team leader and at least one player to attend a pre-match press conference during this World Cup. Senegal has strictly adhered to this rule in its first two group matches, with team leader Aloysius leading the press conferences with Cabindiada and Ghorebani respectively.
However, before the final group stage match against Ecuador, there was only one figure in the press conference. It was reported that the move was to allow the players to focus on preparing for the crucial game. However, this decision cost the team and they received a ticket.
In fact, Senegal is not the first team to be fined for violations at this World Cup. The German team was also fined before the match between Germany and Spain for having only their team leader, Felix, present at the press conference. Eiluschers knowingly violated the law, thus showing that he would rather the team break the bank than affect the players' preparation. As it turned out, Ailuschers' decision was correct, and Senegal eventually beat Ecuador to advance to the Round of 16.
