Accompanied by heated debates and the threat of a game being abandoned, Senegal‘s national football team won the African Cup for the second time. Four years after the triumph in Cameroon, the team led by ex-Salzburg player Sadio Mane won the final in Rabat against hosts Morocco 1-0 after extra time on Sunday. However, Pape Gueye‘s decision was preceded by a scandal because the Senegalese team had already left the field during stoppage time.
Brahim Diaz became a tragic figure on the Moroccan side in front of around 70,000 fans, miserably missing a Panenka-style penalty in the last action before extra time. There had been intense discussions for almost 20 minutes before the Real Madrid attacker’s execution. In protest against what they saw as the wrong decision, Senegal’s players even marched into the dressing room. For a short time there was a threat of cancellation.
The tumultuous scenes were triggered by a duel between Diaz and Senegal’s El Hadji Malick Diouf. After a slight hold in the penalty area, Diaz energetically called for a penalty. Amid great protest from the Senegalese, referee Jean-Jacques Ndala Ngambo from the Democratic Republic of Congo looked at the scene again on the TV screen – and pointed to the spot after the VAR decision.
Then the drama began: Senegal’s players and staff raged, coach Pape Thiaw even ordered his players into the dressing room after long and heated debates. They didn’t stay there for long, as superstar Mane was the first to ask his teammates to return to the pitch. When Diaz was finally allowed to take the ball, he decided to lob it into the middle of the goal. Goalkeeper Edouard Mendy stopped and effortlessly held onto the ball.
Some controversial scenes
The frustration among Mane & Co. was also great because shortly before the penalty scene the referee had denied them a goal after a corner because of a foul on Hakimi – also an extremely controversial decision.
In extra time, with good chances on both sides, the Senegalese looked a bit better physically and mentally. After Gueye’s dream goal, a remarkable shot from around 16 meters into the corner, the Senegalese defended passionately. The strong Bono prevented the score from making it 2-0 – at the end of a memorable final it didn’t matter. For the second time after 2022, Senegal was crowned champion of Africa.