Sanctioned and sued by his club Salernitana for having, according to his coach, "refused to come on in the 80th minute", Boulaye Dia has decided to break his silence. In an interview with L'Equipe, the Senegalese striker gives his version of events.
From one season to the next, Boulaye Dia has gone from hero to zero in the eyes of Salernitana fans. After arriving on loan in the summer of 2022 to revive his career after a difficult year at Villarreal, the Senegalese striker scored 16 league goals to help the promoted club maintain its Serie A status.The romance soon came to an end. Recruited permanently last summer and at the heart of a hectic mercato but with no departures, the former Reims man was initially hampered by injuries before being sidelined due to an incident with his former coach Fabio Liverani.
The facts date back to March 2 at Udinese, where the Salernitana were travelling. The coach asked Boulaye Dia to go and warm up in the 80th minute. In the end, he did not come on. The Italian coach explains: "He refused to come on the pitch. I've taken note of it, and so has the club. It's a definitive choice. I now know that he's someone I can't count on.
On Wednesday April 17, after the case ended up in court following a complaint from the Italian club, Boulaye Dia came out of his silence. He gave his version of events to L'Equipe."There's been too much news, too many lies, and I want to set the record straight. I also want to restore my image. People have the impression that I'm someone with problems. But I've never had any problems. The club lied," clarifies the player from the outset.
The 2021 African champion accuses his coach of somehow throwing him to the wolves."In the 80th minute, the coach asked me to go and warm up. I just nodded. I didn't really think I was going in because I hadn't warmed up at all beforehand. He saw my gesture, said straight away: "Sit down" and told another guy to go and warm up. Afterwards, we talked about it in the dressing room. He told us it had to stay between us. Then he spilled the beans in the press conference right afterwards. But I never refused to go in, and I even have witnesses, team-mates, who are ready to testify," says the 27-year-old centre-forward.
Boulaye Dia, scorer of just 4 goals in 17 league games this season, has a grudge against his managers, who frankly didn't play fair."The club has lodged a complaint against me. They're demanding twenty million euros in damages and a 50% pay cut until the end of the season. All without playing and now they want to work out a deal for me to play again. They wanted to blame me and now they want mediation," says the Senegalese. Under contract until June 2026, he hasn't played a match since February 24.
