LASER PENS
Mo Salah pelted with bottles and rushed off pitch after star targeted with lasers before penalty miss in World Cup KO
MO SALAH was blinded by LASERS and pelted with bottles — as he missed in a penalty shootout to end his World Cup dream.
Liverpool team-mate Sadio Mane scored the winning spot-kick to ensure Senegal beat Egypt in a repeat of the Afcon final.
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Yobs targeted Egypt’s players with dangerous laser pens throughout the World Cup play-off final second leg in Senegal’s capital Dakar.
The Pharaohs’ penalty takers were peppered by the lights during the shootout as three of their four takers missed.
Salah blasted his effort wildly over the bar — before Mane fired Senegal to Qatar 2022 at his expense.
The Egypt skipper was then led down the tunnel by security staff who protected his head as fans hurled missiles at him.
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Senegal won the game 1-0 on the night, sending the game to extra-time and penalties following the reverse score in Egypt on Friday.
There had been previous calls for Fifa to ban laser pens from stadiums.
Ophthalmologist and retinal specialist Dr Robert Josephburg had previously warned: “I have been stunned at the power of these things.
“We are talking about serious damage even if someone is only exposed to it for a few seconds. Sport is an area to worry about, especially if some fans are trying to get an advantage for their team.
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“People have to realise this is not fun and games, it is serious stuff.
“You are endangering someone’s vision. There can be huge repercussions and a real risk of causing at least temporary, and possibly permanent, damage to a person’s vision.
“If I was a player I would be terrified.
“I only hope the authorities act before some real harm is done. The retina is very sensitive and is not made to cope with light of that intensity.
“If it is shone for even a few seconds into someone’s eyes different symptoms can occur — temporary blindness, blurry vision, spotty vision, the sight may not even fully return.”
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The laser scandal in Dakar came after Egyptian yobs had targeted Senegal players with laser pens in the first leg in Cairo.
Just as in the African Cup of Nations Final, Mane scored the decisive penalty in the shootout that decided another niggly, nerve-shredding match.
This time Salah took a spotkick, having been denied the chance by his Liverpool team-mate’s winner in January.
But the Egyptian King blasted their first penalty over the crossbar just when his country needed him to show some composure after his poor display in normal and extra time.
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