Item 1 of 4 Soccer Football – CAF Africa Cup of Nations – Morocco 2025 – Final – Senegal v Morocco – Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat, Morocco – January 18, 2026 Morocco’s Brahim Diaz misses a penalty REUTERS\/Amr Abdallah Dalsh<\/p>\n
[1\/4]Soccer Football – CAF Africa Cup of Nations – Morocco 2025 – Final – Senegal v Morocco – Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat, Morocco – January 18, 2026 Morocco’s Brahim Diaz misses a penalty REUTERS\/Amr Abdallah Dalsh Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab<\/a>Senegal walk-out after penalty but return to win trophyMendy saves Diaz’s penalty after 14-minute delayGueye’s extra-time goal secures Senegal’s victory<\/p>\n RABAT, Jan 19 (Reuters) – African football would have been hoping for a thrilling end to a slick and competitive Cup of Nations tournament but will wake up on Monday with a major headache after the final between Senegal and hosts Morocco descended into farce.<\/p>\n Senegal, who won 1-0 after extra time, staged a walk-out after they had a penalty awarded against them deep in stoppage time at the end of the match.<\/p>\n Sign up here.<\/a><\/p>\n They were ordered off the field by their coach Pape Bouna Thiaw, with some players going back to the dressing room, and it was only after Sadio Mane cajoled them back that the game continued.<\/p>\n “What did we say to each other? That’s between us. We did it together and we came back together, that’s all that matters,\u201d said goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, one of those involved in ugly scenes of jostling and arguing between the players.<\/p>\n A 14-minute delay between the awarding of the penalty, after a lengthy VAR review, and the taking of the kick was followed by a tame effort from Morocco\u2019s Brahim Diaz, who had been their star performer as they reached the final for the first time in 22 years.<\/p>\n His Panenka-style chipped effort floated into Mendy\u2019s arms, leaving the game goalless and having to go into extra time.<\/p>\n “He attempted the Panenka, but I stayed on my feet. We kept the team in the game, and I helped my team at that moment,” Mendy added<\/p>\n The penalty was awarded following a VAR check by Congolese referee Jean-Jacques Ndala after Brahim Diaz had been tugged to the ground by Senegal full back El Hadji Malick Diouf while defending a corner five minutes into stoppage time.<\/p>\n Morocco coach Walid Regragui said the delay did not help Diaz.<\/p>\n “But that doesn\u2019t excuse Brahim for the way he hit the penalty. He hit it like that and we have to accept it. We were one minute from being African champions. That\u2019s football. It\u2019s often cruel. We missed what for some was the opportunity of a lifetime,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n SUPERB WINNING GOAL<\/p>\n Pape Gueye won the trophy for Senegal with a superb strike four minutes into extra time, handing his country their second trophy in the last three editions and extending Morocco\u2019s poor record in the tournament which they have won once previously 50 years ago.<\/p>\n But Senegal\u2019s success will be overshadowed by the controversy of the walk-off, blemishing the image of the African game which only days earlier had boasted of record worldwide revenue for its showpiece tournaments as interest spread worldwide.<\/p>\n \u201cThe image we\u2019ve given of Africa is shameful,” added Regragui.<\/p>\n “A coach who asks his players to leave the field \u2026 What Pape did does not honour Africa. He wasn\u2019t classy. But he is a champion, so he can say whatever he wants”<\/p>\n His Senegal counterpart, Thiaw, could face sanctions for his actions.<\/p>\n However, he missed the chance to discuss the controversy when his post-match press conference was called off after he was jeered by Moroccan journalists when he entered the room while their Senegalese counterparts applauded him.<\/p>\n Writing by Mark Gleeson; Editing by Peter Rutherford<\/p>\n Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab<\/a><\/p>\n