by Nij Martin
The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final should have been a celebration of African football at its finest. Instead, it descended into chaos, controversy, and scenes that will haunt the tournament’s legacy for years to come. Senegal ultimately beat Morocco 1-0 in extra time to claim their second AFCON title in five years, but the path to victory was marred by an extraordinary 17-minute delay when the Senegalese team walked off the pitch in protest of a stoppage-time penalty decision. What unfolded in those final minutes at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat was nothing short of surreal, and it raises serious questions about officiating, sportsmanship, and the state of African football.
The controversy began in the 98th minute of a goalless final when referee Jean Jacques Ndala, advised by the video assistant referee, consulted the pitchside monitor and awarded Morocco a penalty after defender El Hadji Malick Diouf challenged Brahim Diaz in the box. The decision itself was contentious—former Nigeria forward Efan Ekoku called it “soft” though he acknowledged it was “foolish and reckless” by Diouf. But what happened next was unprecedented. Senegal head coach Pape Thiaw, already incensed by Ndala’s earlier decision to disallow an Ismaila Sarr goal for a foul in the buildup, ushered his entire team off the field in protest. Several players followed his orders and headed down the tunnel, while some Senegal supporters threw objects onto the pitch and attempted to breach security to get onto the field. It was, as BBC’s John Bennett described from the commentary box, “a terrible look for the Cup of Nations.”
The only Senegalese player who refused to leave was Sadio Mane. The former Liverpool striker stayed on the pitch, visibly pleading with his teammates to return and finish the match. His leadership in that moment cannot be overstated. As the minutes ticked by—17 in total—Mane worked to convince his colleagues that walking away would be worse than any refereeing injustice. After the game, Mane was clear about his reasoning: “Football is something special, the world was watching, so we have to give a good image for football. I think it would be crazy to not play this game because what, the referee gave a penalty and we go out of the game? I think that would be the worst thing especially in African football. I’d rather lose than this kind of thing happen to our football.”
Eventually, the players did return, and what followed was almost poetic justice. Real Madrid forward Brahim Diaz, the tournament’s top scorer with five goals, stepped up to take the penalty. With all eyes on him and FIFA president Gianni Infantino watching from the stands, Diaz attempted a cheeky Panenka chip down the middle—and goalkeeper Edouard Mendy caught it with ease, barely having to move. The referee immediately blew for full-time, and the match went to extra time. Just four minutes into the additional period, Villarreal midfielder Pape Gueye scored what would be the winning goal, sealing Senegal’s second AFCON triumph and leaving Morocco crestfallen in their quest for a first title since 1976.
In the aftermath, the recriminations were swift. Morocco coach Walid Regragui called Senegal’s actions “shameful” and said they do not “honour Africa.” Even Thiaw himself, whose post-match media briefing was cancelled after a ruckus broke out in the press room, admitted in an interview with BeIN Sport that he had made a mistake: “We didn’t agree. I don’t want to go over all the incidents. I apologise for the football. After reflecting on it I made them come back [on the pitch] – you can react in the heat of the moment. We accept the errors of the referee. We shouldn’t have done it but it’s done and now we present our apologies to football.”
But apologies can’t erase what happened. The controversy didn’t emerge in a vacuum. Before the final, the Senegal Football Federation had expressed “serious concerns” over their treatment, including what they described as a lack of adequate security when their team bus was swarmed by fans upon arrival in Rabat on Friday, complaints about hotel conditions, insufficient ticket allocations for their supporters, and not being offered a training pitch at Morocco’s team base. The FSF said players and staff were left “at risk” due to inadequate security. Thiaw had said in his pre-match conference that “given the number there, anything could have happened. My players could have been in danger. That type of thing should not happen between two brother countries.”
There had also been growing debate throughout the tournament—”more than most years,” according to Bennett—about refereeing decisions and VAR, with accusations from some journalists and fans that hosts Morocco were receiving favorable treatment from officials. The tension had built to such a point that refereeing appointments for certain games were becoming talking points on social media before matches even began, putting enormous pressure on the officials.
So what do we make of all this? On one hand, Senegal’s temporary walkout was indefensible. As Nigeria’s 2013 AFCON winner John Obi Mikel put it, while he could “understand the frustration,” walking off is “not what I want to see.” Ekoku was even more direct: “You cannot do that. However aggrieved you feel at it you have got to let the referee and the rules [make the decision]… I have got some sympathy, but this is not a good look.” The scenes of players abandoning the pitch, fans attempting to storm the field, and the 17-minute delay created exactly the kind of chaos that undermines the credibility of African football on the global stage.
On the other hand, it’s worth acknowledging the context. When a team feels they’ve been systematically mistreated—from security failures to what they perceive as biased officiating—emotions can boil over. Match-winner Gueye explained the team’s mindset: “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 [Mane] told us to come back on and we remobilised. Edouard [Mendy] then made the save, we stayed focused, got the goal and won the game.” That doesn’t excuse the walkout, but it helps explain it.
The real hero of this mess was Mane. His refusal to leave the pitch, his advocacy for returning, and his post-match efforts to calm Senegal fans showed true leadership and a genuine love for the game that transcended national allegiances. Mendy also deserves credit, saying the team could “be proud” of how they returned to win together. Morocco, meanwhile, has been left to contemplate what might have been. They hosted a generally well-organized tournament with impressive infrastructure and stadiums, earning praise from stars like Mohamed Salah. But as Bennett noted, with four years until they co-host the 2026 World Cup, “the astonishing scenes before the Diaz penalty will probably be what will be most remembered about this tournament.”
In the end, Senegal won the trophy, but African football lost something in those chaotic final minutes. The beautiful game deserves better than this.