The AFCON final will be remembered less for football and more for controversy, as eventual champions Senegal nearly staged a walkout before experienced Sadio Mane restored calm, with coach Pape Thiaw later accused of hurting Africa’s image.
The African Cup of Nations (AFCON) final between Senegal and Morocco turned farcical when Senegalese players nearly staged a walkout at the end of the injury-time in normal time after the home team was awarded a controversial penalty. They, however, returned to the pitch after Senegal star Sadio Mane stepped in and calmed down his teammates.
What followed next was more drama as Real Madrid winger Brahim Díaz fluffed the penalty with a ‘Panenka’ attempt and Pape Gueye
eventually won the trophy for Senegal with a winner in the extra time. It is Senegal’s second Afcon win, and the first since 1976.
AFCON, or the African Cup of Nations, has always been a controversial tournament where allegations of biased refereeing, cheating and poor organisation fly around like shots on a football pitch. Even before the final at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in the Moroccan city of Rabat, Senegal had already accused the organisers of
not providing enough security to the travelling team and criticised the lack of tickets for Senegalese fans.
The tension and feeling of partiality spilled onto the pitch when El Hadji Malick Diouf challenged Diaz in the box, leading to Congolese match referee Jean-Jacques Ndala awarding a penalty to Morocco at the end of the allotted eight added minutes following a VAR check.
How Senegal survived penalty chaos to win AFCON
Just as Ndala pointed to the spot, all hell broke loose. Senegalese players felt cheated, so close to the end of injury time in normal time. Had Diaz scored, Senegal would have had no time to make a comeback. Enraged by what he felt was a wrong decision, Senegal coach Pape Thiaw asked his players to stage a walkout.
The situation became so tense that police had to intervene to stop the Senegalese fans from entering the pitch. The fans were also seen throwing chairs and damaging stadium property.
Senegal fans were ready to storm the pitch before Brahim Diaz missed the penalty pic.twitter.com/R9AbTwy2MX
— Iconic (@IconicDuloh) January 18, 2026
Thankfully, better sense prevailed as former Liverpool attacker and one of Africa’s best players, Mane, decided to disobey Thiaw. Viral videos show Mane pleading with his teammates not to leave the pitch and continue playing the game.
Sadio Mane was instrumental in calling the Senegal players back to the pitch 👏#AFCONFinal | #TotalEnergiesAFCON2025 pic.twitter.com/LV34ZuSoL4
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_EN) January 18, 2026
The lone goal-scorer, Gueye, also spoke about Mane’s role in resuming the game after Senegal won the Afcon. “We had a feeling of injustice. Just before the penalty, we thought we should have had a goal, and the referee didn’t go to VAR. Sadio told us to come back on, and we remobilised. Edouard then made the save, we stayed focused, got the goal and won the game,” he said.
Later, Thiaw was also seen asking his players on the bench to return to the pitch. And it proved to be the right call as Edouard Mendy easily saved Brahim Díaz’s weak chip shot.
How on earth is it possible that Senegal players don’t celebrate at all when Mendy save the penalty on Brahim Diaz?!
I say again: in my opinion it was missed on purpose#AFCON2025 pic.twitter.com/xlx35baPgg
— Tancredi Palmeri (@tancredipalmeri) January 18, 2026
The penalty was taken in the 24th minute of the injury time. A long delay that distracted Díaz, claimed Morocco coach Walid Regragui.
“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 from being African champions. That’s football. It’s often cruel. We missed what for some was the opportunity of a lifetime,” he said.
Eventually, the fortune favoured the Senegalese as Gueye scored a screamer in the fourth minute of the added time to clinch the AFCON title for his country. Gueye ended a 49-year wait for Senegal with his sublime strike, but he would not have minded a little less drama.
🚨⚽️ Pape Gueye (24) scores in the AFCON final! What a strike! 🇸🇳 pic.twitter.com/jyoWwdgE5N
— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) January 18, 2026
Morocco’s Regragui slammed Senegal’s coach after the final, accusing him of hurting Africa’s image. “The image we’ve given of Africa is shameful,” the Moroccan coach said.
“A coach who asks his players to leave the field … What Pape did does not honour Africa. He wasn’t classy. But he is a champion, so he can say whatever he wants”
Thiaw also had a change of heart after winning the final as he apologised for his actions. “After thinking about it, I realised that I shouldn’t have asked them to go off. I apologise for that,” he said.
“Sometimes you can react in the heat of the moment. Before that, we scored a goal that was not given. But now we accept that referees do make mistakes and we apologise,” he added.
Thiaw is now set to face actions for his unruly act, but one would say he has had the last laugh.
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