Security checks for laser pointers ramped up for England vs Senegal

Fans at England’s last-16 clash this weekend face strict checks for laser pointers to avoid a repeat of Senegal’s victory to reach the World Cup when players were targeted during the penalty shootout.

The African Cup of Nations champions secured a place in Qatar in March after victory against Egypt when the tie was level after two legs. Mohamed Salah was among the three out of four penalty-takers to miss after having green lights shone in their faces as they took penalties.

Fifa handed Senegal a £143,000 fine for security and order breaches at the play-off and they were ordered to play a match behind closed doors, with “use of laser pointers” among their offences.

Supporters heading to the stadium in Al Khor on Sunday now face rigourous tests, with bags going through X-ray machines and metal-detector searches on the gates before fans go through the turnstiles.

Laser pointers are on the organiser’s official list of prohibited items for spectators and will be confiscated by the tournament security policing each checkpoint of entry.

Uefa took action against England, issuing a £26,000 fine after Kasper Schmeichel had a laser pointed at him at the European Championship semi-final last year, but the Senegal play-off against Egypt has gone down as one of the instances where lasers have had the biggest impact.

“Does laser affect football player's penalty performance?” wrote Geir Jordet on his social-media platforms at the time. Jordet has studied penalties for two decades and is professor at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences.

“Every Egypt player [including their goalkeeper] was targeted by Senegal fans in the penalty shoo-tout for last night's World Cup qualification. 3 of 4 players missed, including penalty specialists Salah and Zizo! Scandalous!”

At Al Bayt on Sunday, the issue of laser pointers at shoot-outs could be raised for the first time as the World Cup reaches the knockout stage and matches level will go to penalties, with England suffering heartbreak at the Euro final against Italy.

Senegal will be without Sadio Mane, who is injured for the finals but has been speaking to his team-mates and offering support and advice ahead of facing players he knows well from his time in the Premier League with Liverpool.

Those working closely with the Senegal team say the Bayern Munich forward is the spirit of the squad, and that he is still working closely with his team-mates even though he is not in Qatar.

El Hadji Diouf, who also played for Liverpool, is there with the squad. He is an advisor to the Senegal Football Federation and has been helping coaches with training sessions at their Duhail SC base in Doha.

Is Mendy an asset or liability in shoot-outs?

Should the last-16 clash go to penalties, Senegal have pedigree with winning shoot-outs as they also won the African Cup of Nations final on spot-kicks, with Edouard Mendy the hero.

“He could be a wildcard,” said John Harrison, Head Data Scientist at Goalkeeper.com. “For Senegal he has saved two out of six in shoot-outs which looks pretty good. The interesting part is whether he improved recently or more in the zone for his country.

“But for Chelsea they have noticed something different and have taken him off after 120 minutes, against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup and in the Uefa Super Cup. It clearly didn’t work in the Carabao Cup as Kepa Arrizabalaga missed his penalty.

“Mendy historically had a poor record but in those last two he has been the hero so the question is whether he has matured over time in shoot-outs. Jordan Pickford has been more steady over his career in terms of his record of nine saves from 55 but Pickford has also saved a penalty in his last three shoot-outs.”