from playing in the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations.
The Africa Cup of Nations runs between the ninth of January and the sixth of February of 2022 in Cameroon.
Watford star Ismaïla Sarr was excluded from the Senegal squad announced to participate in the tournament, with the reason remaining unclear.
However, the Senegalese Football Federation decided to speak up about the issue, addressing the reason behind the exclusion, which is according to them, disrespectful, pernicious, and discriminatory behaviour from Watford.
“The Senegalese Football Federation wishes to express by this press release its deep condemnation of the disrespectful, pernicious and discriminatory behaviour of the leaders of Watford who seek by all means to prevent a player from playing with his national team,” FSF statement said.
After the statement was released, Watford replied, claiming that they were transparent about the issues as Sarr is currently suffering an injury and is undergoing rehabilitation.
Full statement:
“Ismaïla Sarr suffered a knee ligament injury on November 20 in the match against Manchester United and has not been fit to play for Watford FC since that date.
“In early December, the Club wrote to the Senegal Football Federation outlining the clinical diagnosis of Ismaïla’s injury and immediately followed that up by supplying the MRI scans detailing the extent of the injury. After further consultation with medical experts, we informed the Federation of Ismaïla’s rehabilitation process and likely timeframe of recovery.
“Within the past 10 days, the Club has reiterated to the Senegal Football Federation the player’s current medical status and recovery schedule.
The Hornets have also invited the Senegal Football Federation to instruct their own independent surgeon to confirm the diagnosis and rehabilitation period.“
