AFCON: Morocco coach slams Senegal over ‘shameful act’

Morocco head coach Walid Regragui has slammed Senegal’s national team and its head coach, Pape Thiaw, following his side’s 1-0 loss in the Africa Cup of Nations final in Rabat on Sunday.

The coach’s comments come after an absurd display which saw Senegalese players and staff depart the pitch during additional time at the end of the second half. This was due to a penalty given to Morocco after a VAR review.

Senegal stalwart Sadio Mané managed to get his players back onto the pitch, allowing play to resume after about 20 minutes or so.

The game recommenced with the penalty, taken by Morocco’s Brahim Díaz, which was shot straight at Senegal goalkeeper Édouard Mendy in a panenka attempt gone wrong.

The Lions of Teranga claimed a second title in their history and the last five years through Pape Gueye, whose absolute super strike in the 6th minute of extra-time proved to be the difference.

After the game, Regragui denounced Senegal’s actions and directed his tirade towards Thiaw, who had already accused Morocco of unsporting tactics in the pre-match press conference.

“The match we had was shameful for Africa,” said the Moroccan tactician.

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“When a head coach asks his players to leave the pitch, when he’s saying things that already started in the press conference […] he needs to stay class, in victory as well as in defeat.

“What Pape [Thiaw] did tonight doesn’t honor Africa. He’s an African champion now, so he can say what he wants, but they stopped the match for over 10 minutes,” he said.

While the Moroccan coach did not solely blame Díaz’s penalty blunder on the break in play, he believes it certainly contributed towards it.

“I think a lot of time passed before [Díaz] was able to take the penalty, and this put him off,” Regragui said.

“That doesn’t excuse Brahim for the way he hit [the penalty], he hit it like that and we have to own it. We need to look forward now, and accept that Brahim missed it.”

Despite the heartbreak, the Atlas Lions must now reset and shift their focus to the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, Canada and the United States, beginning in June.

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