African football would have hoped for a thrilling finish to a smooth and competitive Nations Cup tournament, but it will wake up on Monday with a major headache after the final between Senegal and hosts Morocco turned into a farce.
Senegal, winning 1-0 after extra time, staged a comeback after being awarded a penalty deep into stoppage time at the end of the match.
They were sent off the field by their coach Pape Bouna Thiaw, some players having returned to the locker room, and it was only after Sadio Mané cajoled them that the match continued.
“What did we say to each other? It’s between us. We did it together and we ended up together, that’s all that matters,” said goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, one of the actors in the ugly scenes of shoving and arguing between the players.
A 14-minute delay between the award of the penalty, after a lengthy VAR review, and the execution of the spot-kick was followed by a tame effort from Moroccan Brahim Diaz, who had been their star performer as they reached the final for the first time in 22 years.
His Panenka-style effort floated into Mendy’s arms, leaving the match scoreless and having to go to extra time.
“He tried the Panenka, but I stayed on my feet. We kept the team in the match and I helped my team at that moment,” Mendy added.
The penalty was awarded following a VAR check by Congolese referee Jean-Jacques Ndala after Brahim Diaz was pulled to the ground by Senegalese full-back El Hadji Malick Diouf while defending a corner five minutes into added time.
Moroccan coach Walid Regragui said the delay did not help Diaz.
“But that doesn’t excuse Brahim for the way he hit the penalty. He hit it like that and we have to accept it. We were one minute away from being African champions. That’s football. It’s often cruel. We missed what for some was the opportunity of a lifetime,” he said.
Superb winning goal
Pape Gueye clinched the trophy for Senegal with a superb goal four minutes into extra time, giving his country its second trophy in the last three editions and extending Morocco’s poor record in the tournament it won once before 50 years ago.
But Senegal’s success will be overshadowed by the controversy surrounding the draw, tarnishing the image of African football which, days earlier, had boasted record global revenues for its flagship tournaments as interest spread around the world.
The image we give of Africa is shameful,” added Regragui.
“A coach who asks his players to leave the field. What Pape did does not honor Africa. He was not classy. But he is a champion, so he can say what he wants.”
His Senegalese counterpart, Thiaw, could face sanctions for his actions.
However, he missed the opportunity to address the controversy when his post-match press conference was canceled after being booed by Moroccan journalists as he entered the room while their Senegalese counterparts applauded him.
