World Cup embarrassment for Senegal as team doctor revealed to be a gynaecologist

On Jul 14, 2026

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Senegal‘s team doctor was “trained as a gynaecologist” and lacked the specialist background needed to support the squad during the World Cup in North America, Senegal Football Federation (FSF) president Abdoulaye Fall said on Monday.

The issue was discovered late and raised concern among players about the level of medical support available, the federation chief said.

“Based on the feedback I received, the players were not sufficiently reassured about being supported by him,” Fall said.

The federation sought additional medical expertise to reassure the squad, he added.

“We had to find convincing expertise so they could feel reassured, because health comes before everything.”

Senegal reached the knockout rounds of the World Cup 2026 (Getty)

The Senegalese Association of Sports Medicine rejected the allegations as “unfounded and defamatory” in a statement issued late on Monday.

It said the team doctor, Abderahmane Fediore, holds a specialist diploma in sports medicine and sports biology from Cheikh Anta Diop University’s faculty of medicine.

He previously led the physiotherapy department at Fann Hospital and has worked as Senegal’s team doctor since 2017, including at three World Cups and five Africa Cup of Nations.

Meanwhile, Senegal fired head coach Pape Bouna Thiaw on Saturday, citing the need for change after their World Cup results.

The 45-year-old coach had been on the job since 2024.

Senegal fired coach Pape Bouna Thiaw on Saturday (Reuters)

“It was decided to initiate a procedure to terminate the functions of the national coach, Mr. Pape Thiaw, as well as his entire technical staff,” the federation said.

“After a thorough evaluation of the sporting results and prospects of the national team, the Executive Committee deemed it necessary to initiate this procedure in the best interests of Senegalese football.”

Senegal had hoped to be contenders at the World Cup after beating Morocco in January’s Africa Cup of Nations final, but had a disappointing tournament.

In Group I action, Senegal defeated Iraq but lost their opening two group games to France and Norway and let slip a 2-0 lead with five minutes remaining against Belgium in the last 32 before going down 3-2 in extra time.

More than 25 per cent of the World Cup coaches have been fired or resigned since their teams were eliminated.

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