Senegal head coach Pape Thiaw has criticised his federation’s handling of administrative issues related to his own contract and the payment of players’ bonuses during the ongoing World Cup, but insists that the issues are settled and the team are now entirely focused on Monday’s Group I game with Norway.
The Teranga Lions are under pressure heading into their second group game after being defeated 3-1 by France in their opener at the MetLife Stadium on Tuesday, but the build-up to the contest has been dominated by talk of civil war between players and federation amid the latest bonus row to impact an African team.
Similarly, despite winning the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco in January, Thiaw said he was expected to work unpaid since February having not been issued with a new contract, although he insists the matter is now resolved.
“Yes, there have been some issues, but whether it’s the players, the coaching staff, or the federation, everyone is now focused on tomorrow’s match, that’s the most important thing,” he told reporters on Sunday. “The matter has finally been resolved.
“Yes, it took longer than it should, but the only thing I want to make clear is that it was never about money, it was a matter of principle and respect.
“My contract is confidential, it’s not up to me to disclose the details of what’s in it.”
Thiaw acknowledged that administrative issues extended beyond his contract, with unpaid bonuses and reports of acting problems within the camp threatening to undermine a campaign for Africa’s champions that promised so much.
ESPN understand that efforts have been made by the Senegal federation over the last few days to address the issues in the camp, including heading the players’ concerns about the accommodation conditions.
“As Senegalese people, patriotism comes before everything,” Thiaw added. “Whenever I put on the tracksuit of my country, Senegal, contractual matters disappear from my mind.
“Of course, there are administrative matters that need to be handled, and perhaps are being resolved later than they should be.
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“But those matters remain internal. What matters to me most is our people. Tomorrow we have an important match, and that’s where my focus is.” When pressed for further details on how the Senegal team are faring in light of the reported discontent within the camp, reserve goalkeeper Mory Diaw insisted that the squad were fully committed to putting the logistic failings behind them while they turned their attentions to their meeting with Norway.
Having lost their opener, defeat by Norway wouldn’t definitively eliminate Senegal from the World Cup, although it would mean they could only potentially advance to the knockouts as one of the best third-placed teams, and even that would rely on them defeating Iraq in their final group game.
“For us, the guiding principle is unity,” Diaw said. “Whether during the Africa Cup of Nations, the World Cup qualifiers, or any previous campaign, we’ve always stood together.
“The fact that Senegal is currently attracting media attention doesn’t change anything. We’ve always been united and we’ll remain so.
“The internal matters have been dealt with within the group, I don’t think people outside the team need to know about our internal discussions.”
After their match against Norway on Tuesday, Senegal will travel to Canada where they face Iraq in Toronto in their final group game on Friday, while Norway and France meet in Foxborough simultaneously.
“We’re a group of professional players who know how to separate such matters from our responsibilities,” Diaw concluded. “We’re here to represent our country and that is our sole focus.
“No controversy or off-field issue will distract us from our shared objective.”
Senegal have reached the knockouts in two of their three previous World Cup campaigns, making the quarterfinals in 2002 and the last 16 in Qatar, having been eliminated in the group stage — on fair play rules — in Russia in 2018.
