Senegal vs Colombia Match Review: Hard Done by Fair Play
Credits: Goal.com
If there’s any time you want to go out of a major competition based on disciplinary actions, now is not the time. That, unfortunately, was what happened to Senegal.
In yet another group where the top 3 things have everything to play for, Colombia edged Senegal 1-0, which leapfrogged them to first place. Senegal, however, were pegged down to third by Fair Play rule, which saw them exit the World Cup in the group stages, making it the very first time since 1982 that any African side had failed to progress to the next round of the FIFA World Cup.
We are not going to delve into the match much as it wasn’t won or lost there. Here is how a tiebreaker in the group stage takes place, and how it became costly for Senegal.
Head-to-head
If Team A and B are level on points, and goal difference, results of A vs B will be used to determine who is above, i.e, if A beat B in their match, A goes above B.
Goal difference
Fair Play
The team with the higher number of fair play points will be ranked higher
How does the Fair Play system work?
-1 point for yellow card
-3 points for indirect red (second yellow)
-4 points for direct red
-5 points for yellow, and direct red
Before this game, Senegal beat Poland 2-1, whilst Japan had the same scoreline against Colombia. Japan then topped the group by basis of Fair Play, with Senegal getting 2 yellow cards in their first game.
They then faced each other, which ended in a 2-2 draw. This meant that the head-to-head option was scrapped, come the results of the third game. Fair play comes in again, with Japan accumulating 3 yellows, while Senegal has 5.
Going into the final match day in Group G, both Japan and Senegal needed only a draw to qualify, but with the Fair Play system, Japan are above Senegal. That means Japan would qualify at 1st place, with Senegal in 2nd. Both teams set out with that in mind, and hoped for the best, with how the games both went down.
Hope for Senegal topping the group then came when Japan conceded, which meant that a draw would secure Senegal at the top, whilst Colombia will drop to 2nd by goal difference. That was all good for the Lions of Teranga, before they conceded.
With Yerry Mina’s goal, Colombia jumped to first spot, and pushed Senegal to third, below Japan, with the fair play system. It didn’t help them as well that they collected another yellow card in their final game, bringing their fair play deficit to -6 points, as compared to Japan’s -4.
Senegal had to push for a point now, but all their efforts were for naught, with the scoreline at 1-0 in both games. That meant that Senegal had to bow out, cruelly, by basis that they collected more yellow cards over Japan, who make it through.
If there was any game in the history of the World Cup which needed this many calculations to be the source of drama, the final day of Group G was it. The ones who had undoubtedly been the more deserved party was Senegal to go through, with how the events unfolded in both games.
Unfortunately, the Lions bled out through paper-cuts from yellow cards.
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