So, Senegal has been kicked out of the World Cup, and rather cruelly as well.

As a man with loosened tie nursing his 14th warm Tusker beer in a Nairobi bar exclaimed during the game, 'Oh damn, what a bummer' to anyone who would listen. It was yet another delightful gut punch in the storied and questionable history of African World Cup teams. Ask any Algerian about 1982 some time, chances are they'll mutter with deep seeded bitterness and it'd be a wise call to end that conversation (quickly).

Grand conspiracies in the world of sport are dime a dozen and typically debunked with a quick kick down onto the ash heap of history. Such is not the point, but once again, we find ourselves in a World Cup year, and as seemingly always happens, controversy has poked its head squarely into the mix by landing afoul of African squads vying for second round qualifications and Senegal has born the brunt.

As such, I'm actively forming an aluminum foil hat; there was a myriad of strange and inexplicable bullshit cutting against African squads in the 2018 group stage, there are some things that deserve to be harshly addressed.