Diouf paves way for return

Diouf's half-brother Abdoulaye Niang says the striker will return

El Hadji Diouf has told a French radio station he has asked the Senegalese FA for two weeks to reflect on his future in international football.
Diouf apparently quit the team after falling out with the FA over bonuses and the late setting-up of a friendly.

The striker has added to the confusion by denying that he actually retired.

"The thing I said and which was quite distorted....is that if things continue like that, I'd quit the national team to concentrate on my club," Diouf said.

Meanwhile, Diouf's half-brother, Abdoulaye Niang, believes the player will end his international retirement.

He talks to Diouf on the phone most days and told tznews Sport: "A solution is going to be found - that's certain.

"When he quit, El Hadji was clear in talking to the press that there were some problems with the federation.

"He gave his point of view - that some things needed changing - and now it's up to the federation, the minister and the team to find a common solution."

Some of the issues which prompted Diouf's resignation have since been addressed.

The late payment of bonuses was one area where the onetime captain of the Teranga Lions, who beat Guinea 3-1 in Sunday's friendly without Diouf, was known to be unhappy.

Following the warm-up match for January's African Nations Cup, Senegalese sports minister Issa Mbaye Samb paid out not only the bonuses for qualifying for Ghana - but also the win bonus for beating Guinea just hours earlier.

Samb, travelling with the national team for the first time in an attempt to address the problems, also believes the talented forward will return.

"Diouf cracked, he had too much pressure - that's all - so it's not a problem; he will return, you will see," the minister told Senegalese media after the match in France.

Niang agrees that his brother took his decision in the heat of the moment.

"When he is taken by anger, he sometimes finds it hard to control but I believe with time, everything will sort itself out," he explained.

Diouf stayed away from Sunday's friendly in Rouen to avoid Senegalese journalists and supporters.

Senegal coach Henri Kasperczak was optimistic over Diouf's return before Ghana 2008: "I am confident about this - he is going to come back."