8 maddest moments from AFCON final from walk-off chaos to craziest penalty ever

The AFCON final will be remembered for all the wrong reasons as Senegal win the tournament for the first time in five years by beating Morocco in an action-packed match

Senegal were crowned champions of Africa on Sunday night after defeating Morocco in the most dramatic final to date. The 2021 champions went from zero to hero in a matter of minutes in a dramatic final in Rabat.

After Crystal Palace forward Ismaila Sarr had his goal disallowed early in injury time, referee Jean Jacques Ndala awarded Morocco a penalty after El Hadji Malick Diouf brought down Brahim Diaz.

The referee reviewed the incident on the VAR monitor before Senegal temporarily refused to play following the controversial penalty award. Head coach Pape Thiaw ushered his team off the field, and some made their way back into the dressing room.

However, after Sadio Mane encouraged his teammates to come back out to the field, Edouard Mendy saved Diaz’s penalty, and the final went to extra time. Pape Gueye then struck the winner four minutes into extra time to spark wild scenes.

Here, we bring the moments of madness from a chaotic final…

Disallowed goal

After a tight 90 minutes between the tournament’s two best teams, Senegal thought they had grabbed a late winner. Sarr had turned the ball home from close range after Abdoulaye Seck’s header was planted onto the post.

However, the goal was ruled out after it was judged that Seck had fouled Achraf Hakimi before getting to the ball. That’s when the chaos began.

Penalty decision

Just moments later, referee Ndala was forced into another decision at the other end. West Ham’s Diouf was involved in an incident with Diaz as a corner was delivered into the Senegal box.

After reviewing the challenge on the on-field monitor, a penalty was awarded in the eighth minute of injury time. Replays showed that Diaz had gone down easily after contact from Diouf.

Senegal exit the pitch

The decision was obviously not a popular one among the Senegal players and the bench. The final turned even more dramatic when Senegal boss Pape Thiaw beckoned his players over, with most of them exiting the pitch.

TV cameras showed many of them walking down the tunnel and into the changing room. Former Liverpool star Sadio Mane was the only one who stayed out before some of his teammates returned.

Social media leak

Perhaps the most bizarre moment of madness took place before the game ended, but didn’t come out until post-match. A screenshot of Ibrahim Mbaye has emerged on social media of him posing in the dressing room in his kit.

The screenshot contains a caption that translates to: “Ibrahim Mbaye who responds on Snap when they left the field.” It follows with: “So he’s in the middle of a match and he responds to me. Peace, we’re getting robbed.”

It’s not clear who the screenshot is from but the image is doing the rounds on social media.

Protests from the crowd

When the game was stopped, supporters’ frustration boiled over. Footage shared on social media shows police fighting with Senegal fans who had stormed the pitch from their seats.

One video showed fans fighting with police at the other end of the penalty, just as Diaz was lining up to take.

Mendy the hero

15 minutes after the penalty was awarded, Brahim Diaz was gifted the opportunity to win the tournament for his nation from the spot. However, after a delay from Mendy just before the spot-kick, Diaz dinked the ball straight at Mendy for a simple save.

The full-time whistle quickly followed to hand Senegal an incredibly unlikely lifeline.

Historical moment

Before this year’s edition of AFCON, Pape Gueye had scored just three goals for his country. And after scoring twice in the 3-1 win over Sudan in the round of 16, the Villarreal defensive midfielder scored the most crucial goal of his career in the fourth minute of extra time.

After superb play from Mane on the halfway line, Gueye thundered forward with the ball and struck a left-footed effort into the top corner to send the whole of Senegal into raptures.

Dream double denied

Morocco came close to equalising through Youssef En-Nesyri, but it was Senegal who had the best chances to score with two tremendous opportunities missed. PSG youngster Ibrahim Mbaye came agonisingly close to scoring a dream goal, only for his club teammate, Hakimi, to deny him.

Then, after Nayef Aguerd smashed his header against the crossbar from a corner, Cherif Ndiaye missed the target from six yards out despite facing an open goal. Yassine Bounou initially saved his initial effort before the ball dropped back to him. Somehow, he missed.