Senegal won an eventful African Cup of Nations final, with Gary Lineker coming on despite troubles on and off the pitch.
Senegalese supporters protest and clash with security officials (Image: AP)
Gary Lineker described the disturbing scenes during the Africa Cup of Nations final between Senegal and Morocco as “very violent”. The incident-filled showdown was decided by Papa Gueye’s winner in extra time after Brahim Diaz missed the penalty that would have won the tournament with the last kick of normal time.
The Real Madrid forward, who is the top scorer at the 2025 tournament in Morocco, chose to make a name for himself with Panenka’s penalty, but Edouard Mendy predicted it correctly and denied the hosts late in stoppage time. The decision to award Morocco a penalty sparked the anger of the Senegalese national team as Pape Thiau instructed his players off the pitch while disgruntled supporters had to be prevented from infiltrating the pitch.
Footage from the stands showed large crowds of security guards and police attempting to deny supporters entry to the pitch. Mr Lineker shot the video from Rabat’s Stade Prince Moulay Abdallah after witnessing the trouble.
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He said: “I don’t understand what I just saw. I don’t understand why VAR was involved in the first place. It’s stupid.”
“Then it all started. They looked like they weren’t going to play and went into the tunnel, but in the end they came back thanks to Sadio Mane. He was doing the right thing, the right thing.”
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“The kick-off started in the crowd. The Senegalese fans were obviously very upset and got very violent. Well, he tried Panenka and I’ve had a little bit of experience myself, but to stand around in a situation like that for 15, 20 minutes without doing anything is crazy.”
Pape Gueye scored the winning goal in extra time, breaking Moroccan hearts. Brahim Dias was sent off four minutes after he missed his spot-kick and had to be consoled by his team-mates, and was photographed crying on the bench.
After collecting his award, the 26-year-old appeared overcome with emotion as he received his runner-up medal and Golden Boot, receiving jeers from those still in the stadium. Senegal won the tournament for the second time, defeating Sudan, Mali and Egypt in the final in Rabat.
Sadio Mane wore the captain’s armband and lifted the famous trophy in what could have been his last match for Senegal. In 2021, the Liverpool icon ended years of suffering by scoring the winning penalty against Egypt in Cameroon, and also made important contributions throughout the competition, contributing to his team’s victory.
Sadio Mane has added to his impressive trophy collection with his second African Cup of Nations winners’ medal. (Image: Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP via Getty Images)
And he did little to throw cold water on his chances of ending his international career on a high. He said: “We know how to play finals.
“Finals are meant to be won. I’m very happy to be able to play my last Afcon final, enjoy it and help my country win.”
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