Morocco were awarded a controversial penalty towards the end of the match, sparking outrage from Senegal’s players. A farce ensued, with coach Pape Tiau ordering his team to leave the stadium in protest of the decision. The game was delayed for nearly 20 minutes, but Sadio Mane ran into the dressing room and persuaded his teammates to come back.
Moroccan forward Brahim Dias finally came forward to take the decisive spot-kick, but his attempted chip hit Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy’s gloves and missed wide.
This failure proved to be costly for Morocco, and in extra time, Gueye found the top corner of the net with a stunning effort that put them back on the ropes. In the end, it was the winning goal, but there is still a chance that Senegal will be stripped of the title.
According to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) rulebook, teams that voluntarily leave the field risk being disqualified from the tournament.
Article 64 states that if a team “refuses to play or leaves the ground before the regular end of the match without the permission of the referee, that team shall be considered slack and shall be permanently excluded from the current competition.”
Morocco coach Walid Reglagui took aim at Senegal after the final whistle, slamming the “shameful” scenes that unfolded after regular time.
“The image we gave of African football was quite shameful,” he said. “It’s not very classy to have to stop a game for more than 10 minutes while the world is watching.”
Legraghi also suggested that Diaz’s missed penalty was due to the long suspension, adding: “He had a lot of time before he took the penalty, so that must have upset him.”
“But you can’t change what happened. That’s how he chose to take the penalty. We need to move on now.”
Morocco were keen to win the title in front of their home fans and become African champions for the second time since lifting the trophy in 1976.
“Soccer is sometimes cruel. Today we lost. We know that we have very few chances in the final and we have to make the most of them,” said Reguraghi.
“That penalty in the last seconds could have won us the title, but it didn’t happen. I could talk for hours, but I hope this team comes back even stronger.”
“Now we know what it takes to get to the final. We hadn’t reached the final in 22 years. We missed the chance of a lifetime.”
