Drama drowns the football as Senegal clinch controversial second Afcon title

The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) final encapsulated the general themes that dominated the 35th offering of Africa’s premier club competition. Great soccer, drama, refereeing controversy and hard-fought displays. At the end of it all it was Senegal that beat host nation Morocco 1-0 to clinch the tournament for the second time in their history.

An extra-time strike by Villarreal midfielder Pape Gueye handed the Lions of Teranga their second Afcon success in just five years. Prior to the maiden continental crown in 2021, the Senegalese had waited decades to conquer Africa. For Morocco, their five-decade wait for just a second Afcon title continues.

Roller-coaster ride

However, the great soccer on display was overshadowed by a number of shenanigans that took place during the match – casting African soccer in a bad light.

With scores level at 0-0, Senegal felt aggrieved about a goal they scored in injury time being ruled off for a foul on Achraf Hakimi in the build-up. The Lions of Teranga’s anger was amplified by the fact that it would probably have been the winning goal of the match.

To compound Senegal’s anger, a few moments later Congolese referee Jean-Jacques Ndala, after consulting with the video assistant referee (VAR), handed the host nation a penalty. Brahim Díaz was adjudged to have been fouled in the Senegalese box.

Chaos ensued as Ndala pointed to the spot, with all the Senegalese in the stadium up in arms over the decision to hand the Atlas Lions a penalty.

For the Moroccans it was a moment of relief. They could finally dream of snapping a 50-year Afcon trophy drought. Doing it on home soil would have been the perfect platform too. The Moroccans would have not cared about the dubious nature of their win. Only that they won.

Justice served or justice denied?

After the award of the spot-kick, there was a delay of more than 10 minutes, which was caused by incensed Senegal coach Pape Thiaw hauling his players off the pitch. It took the intervention of Senegal skipper Sadio Mané to remobilise the Lions of Teranga and return the pride to the pitch.

“What we felt was injustice,” Senegal’s match-winner Pape Gueye explained on the decision to stage a walk-off.

“There had already been a foul called against us and the referee chose not to look at the VAR. We were frustrated, but Sadio told us to come back on the pitch to remobilise us. We took the decision to come back on the pitch to give everything – and we did,” the midfielder stated.

Even during this process there was more controversy and gamesmanship as Moroccan ball boys accosted Senegal’s reserve goalkeeper Yehvann Diouf and tried to pry away a towel he was trying to keep from them, which belonged to his compatriot and fellow goalkeeper Édouard Mendy.

It’s believed the towel contained information on Morocco’s potential penalty-takers, an action which is not illegal under current rules. Some goalkeepers even use water bottles to carry this key information.

After the Lions of Teranga had returned to the field, things calmed down enough for Díaz, the tournament’s top goal scorer, to step up. The Real Madrid attacker opted for a cheeky chip down the middle, known as the Panenka penalty. But Senegal goalkeeper Mendy was alive to the idea and stopped it.

Díaz was crestfallen, as were the thousands of hopeful Moroccans who had filled up the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat. Eventually the match was settled by Gueye’s 94th-minute strike, shattering the hearts of the Moroccans – especially after the nation has invested so many millions into improving their soccer over the years.

Words exchanged

In the aftermath of the match, Morocco’s coach Walid Regragui was heavily critical of his Senegalese counterpart Thiaw, saying: “A coach asking his players to leave the field? What Pape did does not honour Africa. We stopped the match in the eyes of the world for [more than] 10 minutes. That didn’t help Brahim. 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.”

Fifa president Gianni Infantino, who was in attendance in Rabat, was also critical of the Senegalese. The Swiss soccer boss said the actions of the Lions of Teranga players and their coach were “unacceptable”.

“It is unacceptable to leave the field of play in this manner. Equally, violence cannot be tolerated in our sport, it is simply not right,” said Infantino. “We must always respect the decisions taken by the match officials, on and off the field of play.”

For his part in the ugly scenes that have overshadowed the actual football on display on the day between two African powerhouses, Thiaw was apologetic. After the match he said: “I apologise for football. After reflection, I had them come back. Sometimes, you can react in the heat of the moment. But we accept the referee’s mistakes. We offer our apologies to football.”

But the question is whether Thiaw would have been so cordial if the Moroccans had converted their controversial penalty. Especially as Senegal hd already arrived in the match on edge after being the victims of off-field gamesmanship from Morocco after travelling to their base without security, and being mobbed by the public as a result.

“We have to say what happened is abnormal, abnormal for a team like Senegal to be left with the crowd like that,” Thiaw said prior to the match “The players were in danger. Anything could have happened through the actions of malicious people.”

The scenes in the final have done little to exonerate Morocco from the growing soccer public’s perception that they are the bullies of African soccer. This reputation even extends to continental club soccer. It’s a stain they will need to focus on before the 2030 soccer World Cup, which they will co-host alongside Portugal and Spain. DM