By Business Insider Reporter
For 97 minutes, the Africa Cup of Nations final had threatened to confirm its reputation as the most orderly, least dramatic edition in living memory.
Then, in injury time, everything unravelled.
What followed at the Stade Prince Moulay Abdellah was not just a football match but a full-scale implosion: a disputed VAR penalty, a player walk-off in protest, a 15-minute delay, a missed Panenka, crowd disorder, and finally a thunderous winning goal that crowned Senegal champions amid disbelief and exhaustion.
Senegal will be remembered as winners, thanks to Pape Gueye’s sublime strike in extra time, but the final will live longer in memory for the chaos that preceded it.
The spark was lit two minutes into stoppage time. Senegal thought they had scored when Ismaïla Sarr nodded home after Achraf Hakimi struck the post, only for the referee to whistle for a foul by Abdoulaye Seck.
Tempers simmered, but worse was to come.
Four minutes later, after a VAR review, the referee pointed to the spot for Morocco. El Hadji Malick Diouf was judged to have pulled Brahim Díaz while defending a corner – a decision that Senegal’s players found impossible to accept.
Convinced they were being wronged, most of the Senegal team marched off the pitch in protest.
Only Sadio Mané, visibly torn, lingered.
Eventually, after frantic negotiations involving former Senegal coach Claude Le Roy and even El Hadji Ousseynou Diouf acting improbably as a mediator, Mané sprinted down the tunnel to summon his teammates back. By the time order was restored, 15 minutes had elapsed since the penalty was awarded.
The delay only amplified the pressure. Díaz, Morocco’s talisman and arguably the player of the tournament, stood over the ball knowing a nation’s 50-year wait for continental glory rested on his boot.
After kissing the ball, he attempted a Panenka – a moment of daring that turned disastrous. Édouard Mendy read it with ease and caught the ball calmly, sending the stadium into bedlam.
The miss triggered pandemonium in the stands. Advertising hoardings collapsed in front of Senegal supporters, riot police flooded the area, and what had been a cagey final suddenly felt unhinged.
Extra time reflected that madness.
Morocco, forced to chase the game, poured forward relentlessly. Headers crashed against the bar, crosses flew in from every angle, and Senegal defended with desperate brilliance. Then, in the fourth minute of extra time, came the decisive moment.
Neil El Aynaoui lost possession near halfway. Mane picked the ball, dashed and forged ahead. While defenders were contemplating on how to stop the lethal player, Made backheeled the ball. The ball broke to Pape Gueye, who surged forward and unleashed a ferocious shot into the top corner – a goal of breathtaking quality that cut through the hysteria like a blade.
Players from both teams collapsed at the final whistle, some in triumph, others in devastation. Morocco’s long wait for continental success continued in agony; Senegal celebrated a second Afcon title, though not without consequence.
Their walk-off will almost certainly attract sanctions, and the controversy will linger. Senegal had arrived at the tournament final already frustrated by logistics, security concerns, training arrangements and refereeing appointments – grievances that now form part of the backdrop to their outburst. Yet football history is rarely tidy. This final, quiet for so long, saved all its drama for the end. In the space of half an hour, it delivered controversy, chaos and brilliance in equal measure – a reminder that even the calmest tournaments can erupt when it matters most.
