Kicking off this Thursday, the 2026 FIFA World Cup has seen a fair share of criticism, before having begun. A new viral video has triggered more backlash, showing Senegal's national team being searched on the tarmac of a US airport with metal detectors, which internet users claimed shows the players "treated like criminals" and "unapologetic racism." There's also a photo of the coach undergoing the same treatment. But how real are these images?
Internet users shared a viral video of the Senegalese national football team at a US airport, that showed them being searched and scanned with metal detectors on the tarmac itself, with their shoes off and bags being turned inside out. Users declared it was excessive treatment for a national team on its way to participate in what's arguably the biggest sporting event in the world.
According to football fans, the video was filmed upon the Lions of Teranga's arrival at San Antonio airport, and that it was "public degradation on the tarmac" and treating "top African football giants like suspects." Other said it showed "brazen and unapologetic racism" and that white players "wouldn't have been treated the same."
A viral photo that also sparked backlash of the team's coach Pape Thiaw, also being frisked on the tarmac by a staff member, that internet users called "shameful."
In reality, the video of the team's airport search is real, although it didn't take place in San Antonio, but was filmed in Raleigh, North Carolina as the team boarded their flight to San Antonio, where they played a warmup friendly against Saudi Arabia. The Senegalese national team clarified in a communiqué that the arrangement on the tarmac was "primarily intended to optimize the delegation's travel time and facilitate boarding of the private flight to San Antonio."
The photo of Coach Thiaw however, was AI-generated, possessing a Google SynthID digital watermark indicating it was all or partly generated by Google AI. The Senegalese Football Federation's official Instagram account also shows him leaving for San Antonio in a different, all-black outfit than the blue shirt in the viral photo. It's likely the creator of the image used the real video from the airport as inspiration or the prompt, due to the similarities in the images.
This World Cup has seen much backlash, from the sky-high ticket prices to the question of political neutrality, and US entry regulations that leave many fans of top teams - like Senegal and Ivory Coast - unable to enter the country to watch their countries play.
Most recently, the treatment of Somali referee Omar Artan likely fanned the flames of these viral images of the Lions of Teranga. Artan, despite being named Africa’s BEST male referee last year, was denied entry to the US on Sunday, despite having a diplomatic passport and visa, and sent home.
