Mane collided with Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha, during their round of 16 encounter but recovered to score a goal before being substituted
By Kehinde Okeowo
Liverpool have reached out to Senegal in an attempt to stop Sadio Mane from playing against Equatorial Guinea in today’s African Cup of Nations (AFCON) quarter-finals match.
The Senegal attacker briefly lost consciousness following a collision with goalkeeper Vozinha, but recovered enough to score in the 2-0 win but was substituted soon after. He was also reported to have been taken to the hospital after complaining of dizziness.
Concussion protocols in the Premier League would have automatically ruled out Mane for the next match, but this does not apply in AFCON.
However, Mane is likely to line up against Equatorial Guinea this evening, only five days after being knocked out during the game against Cape Verde.
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According to The Mail, Liverpool have approached both Mane and Senegal ‘to express their fairness and make their stance known as regards being featured so soon after the incident.
Though the Reds do not have the final say on the matter but have received the backing of the brain injury charity Headway, whose chief executive Luke Griggs accused Senegal of putting success ahead of player welfare.
He also insisted that the 29-year-old should have been substituted after his head injury and frowned at the decision to continue playing him.
He said, “On the face of it, this seems to be yet another example of football putting results ahead of player safety.
“This was a sickening collision that clearly left both players in enough distress for a concussion to have surely been considered a possibility at the very least.
“At that point, the principle of ‘if in doubt, sit it out!’ should have resulted in Mane being substituted without another ball being kicked.
“This is now a real test of leadership for The Confederation of African Football and world governing body Fifa – particularly if Senegal declare Mane fit for Sunday’s quarter-final
“If football wants to be taken seriously when it comes to concussion, it simply must take action to enforce and strengthen its protocols.”
Responding to the criticism, Senegal team doctor Abdourahmane For tried to clarify the teams’ position on the matter, arguing that Mane’s situation wasn’t as precarious as was being speculated.
“All the symptoms he had on the pitch are gone,” he said in a statement released by the country’s FA. “His condition requires fairly close monitoring. Everything is normal on the X-ray.”
