The assistant coach of the national team, better know as the Scorpions, Lamin Sarr has vowed that because of poor referring his side went out of the preliminaries. He made these remarks in and telephone interview with Pointsports atthe Mauritania airport as the team were about to take their flight to Banjul. " We played well and got a goal in the 10thminute from Ebou Bojang but we were denied by the referee. We had a penalty which all the spectators were saying is a hand ball but the ref was not in our favour. We played well but the sending off of Habib Kunta disturbed us," he stated.
Meanwhile Poinsports has learned that the sending off Habib Kunta came at the end of the first half when the two teams were leaving for the dressing room. According to sources the Gambian player reacted in front of the referee when he pushed the Mauritanian player claming that the Mauritanian player provoked him.The Gambian Players rushed to the referee not to give the player the red card, as it all happened in front of the lines man who saw every thing that transpired. Habib was given his marching orders by the central referee just after the end of the first half to put the Gambian team one man down.
Meanwhile, the team will be returning to Banjul after a disappointing performance. They are eliminated by the Mauritania team in the first ever home based African Cup of Nations organised by the Confederation of African football (CAF) next year in Ivory Coast. The Scorpions hopes of qualifying were dashed when the visiting team took an advantage of a goal that they got in Banjul in the first leg, after a 1-1 all draw in Banjul. The return leg was played in Nouachort on Saturday 12thof April 2008.
