Senegal’s Africa Cup of Nations hero, Pape Gueye, revealed that a late and controversial penalty decision against Morocco became the emotional trigger behind their dramatic title win. The Villarreal midfielder said the team felt like “victims of injustice,” a feeling that sharpened their focus and fueled their extra-time triumph in Rabat.
Morocco was awarded a penalty deep into stoppage time at the Prince Moulay Abdallah Stadium after Brahim Diaz was brought down in the box. Moments earlier, a Senegal goal had been ruled out, which led to angry protests from players and chaotic scenes in the stands.
“𝑾𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒖𝒏𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅. 𝑶𝒖𝒓 𝒈𝒐𝒂𝒍 𝒘𝒂𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒚, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏,” 𝑮𝒖𝒆𝒚𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅.
Senegal Chaos, Courage, and a Championship Goal
After a long delay of nearly 20 minutes, Diaz finally stepped up. His soft Panenka attempt was comfortably saved by goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, swinging momentum back toward the visitors. Just four minutes into extra time, Gueye struck a decisive goal to secure a 1-0 victory and crown Senegal champions.
Gueye credited captain Sadio Mane for restoring calm during the chaos.
“𝑺𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒐 𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒉 𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒚. 𝑴𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒚 𝒔𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒚, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒋𝒐𝒃,” 𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅.
Senegal coach Aliou Cissé later admitted he had initially urged players to walk off in protest but apologized for the reaction. “In the heat of the moment, emotions take over. We respect the officials and accept that mistakes can happen,” he told beIN Sports.
The victory marked Senegal’s second AFCON title after their 2022 triumph over Egypt. Remarkably, Gueye’s strike was the first goal Senegal has ever scored in an AFCON final, ending a run of goalless showpieces.
Despite late absences for Crepin Diatta and Pape Matar Sarr, Gueye said the team’s pride never wavered.
“𝑾𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒘 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒅. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒚 𝒘𝒆’𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕.”
Also Read: Coach Voices Concern as Rabat Erupts After Tense Morocco Final