Sports News

Senegal walk off, return and beat Morocco to win AFCON in a chaotic final in Rabat

Senegal beat hosts Morocco 1-0 after extra time in the Africa Cup of Nations final at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat on Sunday, 18 January, in front of 66,526 fans. Pape Gueye scored in the 94th minute after Sadio Mane won the ball in midfield.

The drama came earlier. Five minutes into stoppage time, after a VAR check, referee Jean-Jacques Ndala gave Morocco a penalty for El Hadji Malick Diouf's pull on Brahim Diaz. Coach Pape Bouna Thiaw ordered Senegal off the pitch; Mane persuaded them to return after about 14 minutes. Diaz then tried a Panenka-style chip that Edouard Mendy caught easily.

“We really wanted to win here.” — Pape Gueye, via Al Jazeera

NBC News noted it was Morocco's first defeat in 27 internationals, and that Morocco have won the title only once, 50 years ago. Al Jazeera called the walk-off farcical and quoted Morocco coach Walid Regragui saying the African football on show was disappointing. New Straits Times carried the view from Moroccan papers: Senegal were “unsporting”, but the better side.

How each outlet framed it

• Al Jazeera — a farcical walk-off, and Regragui's disappointment.
• NBC News — a final full of chaos, and the end of Morocco's long unbeaten run.
• New Straits Times — the Moroccan press verdict: unsporting, but better.

What happened next: Gueye later admitted the walk-off was “a mistake”, Ahram Online reported. In March, a CAF appeal board stripped Senegal of the title.