Morocco to appeal to FIFA, CAF after Senegal chaos at AFCON
The Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) on Monday said it will initiate file complaints before FIFA and CAF (Africa football confederation) after the Africa Cup of Nations final went to extra time after finishing 0-0 in a chaotic end that saw Senegal players walk off the field when host Morocco was awarded a stoppage-time penalty.
The federation said on its website that the withdrawal was “accompanied by incidents” after a penalty was awarded to Morocco and “disrupted the normal course of the match and the performance of the players.”
Senegal went on to win the game 1-0 in extra time to lift their second AFCON title and second in five years after winning it in 2021, but the nature of the defeat did not go down well with Morocco and their coach Walid Regragui.
Incensed by the pair of questionable refereeing decisions, Senegal coach Pape Thiaw led his team off the field Sunday while Moroccan fans celebrated and whistled amid wild scenes on the pitch with players from both sides arguing with one another over the VAR call that handed the hosts the late penalty.
The Senegal players eventually returned following 14 minutes’ delay in play after talisman Sadio Mane went into the locker room to encourage them to come back into the match.
Édouard Mendy then saved Brahim Díaz’s penalty while more Senegal fans tried storming the field. Tempers also flared in the press box with journalists fighting among themselves.
After the match, Morocco coach Regragui was critical of Thiaw’s decision to pull his team from the field and defended Díaz on his missed penalty.
During the suspension of the match, outraged Senegal supporters jumped over barricades and landed in photographers’ positions behind one of the goals, where they threw chairs onto the field and battled with stewards before police arrived to try and restore order.
The federation said it would “resort to legal procedures with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA)” asking them to “rule on the withdrawal of the Senegalese national team from the field during the final against the Moroccan national team, as well as on the events that accompanied this decision, following the referee’s announcement of a penalty deemed correct by all the experts.”
Also on Monday, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) condemned in a statement the “unacceptable behavior” of some players and officials during the AFCON final.
The statement did not explicitly name the Senegal delegation but said that CAF “firmly” rejected any inappropriate conduct, especially that directed against the refereeing team or the organizers.
After the match, Morocco coach Regragui was critical of Thiaw’s decision to pull his team from the field and defended Díaz on his missed penalty.
“I think a lot of time passed before [Brahim] was able to take the penalty, and this put him off,” Regragui said. “The match we had was shameful for Africa.”
Díaz issued a statement on Monday about the missed penalty, saying: “My soul hurts. I dreamed of this title thanks to all the love you all gave me, every message, every show of support that made me feel I wasn’t alone. I fought with everything I had, with my heart above all else.
“Yesterday I failed and I take full responsibility. I apologize from the bottom of my heart.
“It will be hard for me to recover, because this wound doesn’t heal easily… but I will try. Not for myself, but for everyone who believed in me and for everyone who suffered with me.
“I will keep going forward until one day I can give you all this love back and become a source of pride for my Moroccan people.”
Information from Efe and AP was used in this report.
