Senegal 1 Morocco 0: AFCON final’s chaotic walk-off, missed panenka and spectacular winner
Senegal won the Africa Cup of Nations for the second time in their history but the final was marred by chaotic scenes as Senegal’s players left the pitch late in the game in protest at Morocco being awarded a controversial penalty in added time.
After a VAR check, El Hadji Malick Diouf was deemed to have brought down Brahim Diaz in the six-yard box after grappling with the forward during a Morocco corner and referee Jean-Jacques Ndala Ngambo pointed to the spot, much to the dismay of Senegal who had, moments earlier, been denied a goal.
In one of the most bizarre scenes in the history of international football, Senegal’s players — other than Sadio Mane — left the pitch before reemerging after a lengthy pause in play to allow the penalty to be taken, which Diaz woefully missed with a ‘panenka’.
Senegal no doubt felt doubly aggrieved because the referee had blown his whistle for an Idrissa Gueye foul on Achraf Hakimi seconds before Ismaila Sarr had found the net in the 93rd minute.
In extra time, Pape Gueye scored the winner with a thunderous strike from distance, but the quality of his goal and Senegal’s victory will likely be overshadowed by the extraordinary scenes which preceded it.
Carl Anka, Mark Carey, Andrew Fifield, and Max Mathews analyse the key talking points.
What sparked the chaos?
It was a scene that no fan of football wants to see in a final.
It took until the dying moments of stoppage time for the final to spring into life, or rather deep controversy, that hinged on a single refereeing decision.
A late Morocco corner saw Senegal left-back Diouf put his hands around the neck of Morocco’s star man Diaz at the back post. There was minimal contact on the 26-year-old in an exchange that is commonly seen in a penalty area from most set-piece situations around world football.
It was clumsy from Diouf but when Diaz threw himself to the floor, he gave the referee a decision to make.
It was a controversial end to what had been an entertaining final (Sebastien Bozon/AFP via Getty Images)
Diaz was enraged that he was not awarded a foul initially, but after VAR advised referee Jean-Jacques Ndala Ngambo to overturn the decision, the touch paper was lit for one of the most controversial moments in football history.
Cue player outrage, cue pushing and shoving from both benches, and cue chaos that emanated from the stands as some Senegalese fans nearly spilt onto the pitch. To say that there was pandemonium in the minutes that followed would be an understatement.
Such was the offence felt by the Senegalese bench that manager Pape Thiaw directed his players to walk off the field and into the changing rooms to protest the decision. It was also fury that was compounded by Senegal having a goal disallowed only seconds earlier, after the referee blew for another soft push from a corner — blowing the whistle before the sequence ended rather than waiting for a VAR review to aid his decision.
Captain Sadio Mane directed his team-mates back onto the field for the penalty to be taken, and missed by Diaz himself.
No matter your view on the refereeing decision, this was a disappointing moment for African football as a whole. The scenes were more befitting of an amateur football game than an AFCON final.
Mark Carey
What was Diaz thinking?
It should have been the crowning glory of Brahim Diaz’s AFCON.
The Moroccan had been one of the standout players of the tournament, and when he was handed the unexpected chance to secure his country’s win on home soil with that controversial late penalty, immortality beckoned.
That said, the pressure was intense. Not only did he have to wait an age to actually take the spot-kick, thanks to Senegal’s walk-off (the delay totalled around 16 minutes), he also had to contend with Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy and Mane offering him pointed advice as he prepared to take it.
Edouard Mendy talks to Brahim Diaz (Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images)
So quite why his reaction to all this was to attempt a ‘panenka’ — a chip straight down the middle of the goal, named after the Czech player Antonin Panenka who scored with one in the 1976 European Championship final — is anybody’s guess.
When executed well, they are a thing of beauty. When they go wrong, they are hideous. And this one went very badly wrong.
Mendy had time to dive on the floor, get up and simply catch Diaz’s shot in what was the last act of normal time.
Brahim Diaz missed a late penalty with a tame effort (Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images)
Diaz simply crumpled and seemed to be in tears before extra time had even begun. He was finally withdrawn after 98 minutes, emotions bubbling up once again, and disappeared straight down the tunnel.
Diaz received the Golden Boot award for being AFCON’s top scorer after the game. And his face when he posed for photographs with FIFA president Gianni Infantino said it all.
(Abdel Majid Bziouat/AFP via Getty Images)
Andrew Fifield
Pape Gueye’s remarkable extra-time goal
After all that VAR-induced drama and protest, it was easy to forget there were 30 more minutes of football to be played. Diaz’s penalty miss led to a heavy momentum swing in the game; Senegal taking to the start of extra time full of indignation.
With legs tired, emotions heightened and the rain beginning to fall in Rabat, space opened up in front of Morocco’s penalty area. The 94th minute (officially on the clock, but much closer to 130 if you add on the penalty-related fracas) saw a quick break into the final third down the left.
Pape Gueye celebrates scoring the winning goal (Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images)
Pape Gueye then unleashed a left-footed shot from the edge of the box that left Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou flat-footed, before crashing off the crossbar and in.
It was a tremendous goal, silencing the home crowd, before a section of missiles rained down on the Senegal players celebrating. Poetic justice? Not quite, as the grievance should be with match officials rather than any player.
Diaz would be substituted four minutes after the goal for Ilias Akhomach. He looked like a man weighed heavy by a dramatic turnaround.
Carl Anka
Should El Aynaoui been taken off?
With neither side able to break the deadlock midway through the second half, there was an unsavoury scene that drew the game to a halt.
Morocco midfielder Neil El Aynaoui climbed to head the ball from a cross, only to head the back of Senegal full-back Malick Diouf. As the 24-year-old fell to the floor, there was a notable panic with players quickly spotting the blood gushing from above El Aynaoui’s eyebrow.
Neil El Aynaoui has his head bandaged after being injured during the final (Abdel Majid Bziouat/AFP via Getty Images)
El Aynaoui received medical attention for eight minutes and 28 seconds for the nasty collision, changing his shirt twice to ensure it had no remaining blood on it. While his wound was temporarily patched up, there seemed to be no suggestion that he would be taken off the field and assessed for concussion, but the nature of the injury suggested that the decision should have been taken out of El Aynaoui’s hands.
The tempo of the game dropped in the minutes that followed El Aynaoui’s return to the field, with momentum understandably lost after such a lengthy delay. That is no issue when the safety of a player is placed as the priority, but there might have been a very real possibility that both El Aynaoui and Diouf had been more hurt than first thought.
Neither was taken off, but there was little doubt that it was a situation that marred a notable share of the second half.
Mark Carey
How a red-hot atmosphere turned to silence
Any talk about the atmosphere comes with a caveat because of the ugly scenes towards the end of the game at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium.
The Senegalese fans, dressed in the colours of the country’s flag, two-stepped, danced and jived to the constant drumming led, as ever, by the ‘seven letters’, and were really le 12eme Gainde (the 12th Lion) for the Lions of Teranga.
Unfortunately, things spilt over between some Senegal supporters and Moroccan photographers and stewards, resulting in riot police with batons coming in.
On the Moroccan side, there were tireless whistles whenever Senegal had the ball, which meant you could barely hear yourself think. One white-jacketed home supporter, facing away from the pitch on top of the fencing separating the fans from the pitch, led an Icelandic-style thunderclap in the second half, which echoed around the entire stadium.
The home fans also cheered loudly when the riot police appeared, and again when the penalty was awarded. But they were denied the conclusion they wanted and, in the end, the final whistle was greeted by mostly silence as the Rabat ground emptied.
Max Mathews
A final that was played
“Finals aren’t to be played, they’re to be won,” is the famous line from Jose Mourinho.
The semi-finals of this tournament were tactically fraught encounters that earned plaudits for collective defending rather than attacking ambition. Footballing purists say there is no such thing as a boring game, but neutrals had good reason to believe this final would turn into a negative, cagey affair.
Morocco’s defence has been their calling card throughout the competition and, for all of Senegal’s attacking power, the two sides could have easily cancelled each other out.
But then the game began and you realised both teams wanted to go for it. The first half saw Senegal go close on two occasions, Nicolas Jackson showing his thrilling and frustrating sides in equal measure. Morocco do not always try to be cavalier entertainers, but they too broke with purpose and in numbers when the time was right to attack.
A good way to measure the pace of a game is to click your fingers when one team loses the ball, before clicking again when they use that regained possession to have a shot on goal. The first half yielded no goals, but saw both teams move the ball with intent when they realised they had time and space to play.
Senegal went in at half-time regretting their inability to turn their four shots into a goal. Sometimes, finals are to be played. Everyone viewing was thankful both sides wanted to give it a go.
Carl Anka
