A coming together between the two former Liverpool teammates in the AFCON semi-final resulted in a scuffle on the sidelines and a yellow card administered to Habib Diarra
17:53, 14 Jan 2026Updated 18:09, 14 Jan 2026
Mohamed Salah fouls Sadio Mane
Mohamed Salah's foul on Sadio Mane caused a touchline disagreement in the AFCON semi-final(Image: )
Mohamed Salah's innocuous foul on Sadio Mane caused a touchline disagreement between the Egypt and Senegal benches in Wednesday's Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) semi-final.
The former Liverpool teammates endured a fractured relationship during their time at Anfield, but warmly embraced in the tunnel before the game. However, that goodwill didn't last long, with Salah tripping Mane in the latter stages of the first half, prompting both benches to clash.
The foul was relatively harmless from Salah but it did prevent Mane from launching a quick counter attack. The reaction from the sidelines was somewhat out of proportion, but perhaps not surprising given the high-stakes nature of the encounter.
There was plenty of pushing and shovoing, as well as gesticulating and shouting. Mane even acted as peacemaker, encouraging both sets of coaches to return to their respect benches.
In the aftermath, Habib Diarra was shown a yellow card for his protestations, which rules him out of the final should Senegal win the last-four clash in Tangier.
The incident came at the end of a rather dour first half in which Egypt failed to muster a shot on target. Salah has previously referenced how the Pharaohs lack the quality of the best nations at the competition, and that was evident with Egypt's risk-averse approach to the first 45 minutes.
The winner of Wednesday's game between Egypt and Senegal will face Nigeria or Morocco in Sunday's AFCON final.
Salah and Mane, of course, have shared history at the tournament and met in the 2021 final, which Senegal won on penalties.
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The pair also did not enjoy warm relations during their time at Liverpool, despite their collective on-field success.
"Yes, there was tension with Sadio," Salah said in an interview with L'Equipe last year.
"Mind you, we were professional until the end. I don't think it affected the team. It's human to want more. I understand that he's a competitor. Off the pitch, we weren't very close, but we always respected each other."