I used to be there the evening Senegal gained AFCON and, sure, the referee’s choice was abysmal… however Morocco can NEVER declare what Sadio Mane and Co achieved as their very own, writes LEWIS STEELE
Admittedly it was only 59 days ago, but I’m pretty sure in 59 years’ time my memories of covering the 2026 Africa Cup of Nations final in Rabat, the most bonkers match I have ever attended – and likely will ever attend – will be just as vivid.
There were futile attempts to flag down a taxi – licensed or otherwise – while walking along a Moroccan motorway in the teeming rain at 1am. Not to mention the wrestling between fans, journalists and stewards alike.
But the first thing that pops to mind when reminiscing about this match, one that exposed both faces of the so-called beautiful game, will be the ecstasy, jubilation and tears of joy shed by Senegal players and fans after winning the tournament on Moroccan soil.
I will also remember taking a wrong turn while trying to leave the stadium and accidentally (well, it was accidental at first anyway, but no one stopped me) brushing shoulders with Sadio Mane, who sported a beaming grin that stretched from Rabat to Dakar.
This was the crowning moment of an underrated but glittering career for Mane. A second AFCON title to sit next to his Champions League, Premier League and Bundesliga medals in his trophy cabinet, his latest success perhaps his greatest given his role on and off the pitch.
I remember Real Madrid’s Brahim Diaz, inconsolable after missing a penalty to win the match for Morocco. I remember more than 65,000 faces like thunder leaving the stadium as locals pondered how their team fluffed their shot at a famous triumph on home soil in such dramatic fashion.
This was the crowning moment of an underrated but glittering career for Sadio Mane
Real Madrid’s Brahim Diaz, who missed a penalty to win the match for Morocco, was left in floods of tears
The next day, as I killed time before my flight home, I can picture the dejected faces around the streets. I certainly enjoyed my lemon chicken tagine more than the other patrons who sported upside-down smiles in the city-centre Dar Naji restaurant.
I recall the anger of Morocco’s coach Walid Regragui, who lost his job weeks later. A World Cup semi-finalist and AFCON finalist, the federation said they needed a ‘new lease of life and different energy’, citing the wounds of this loss as too difficult for their greatest-ever boss to recover from.
How about the Senegal fans? Those lucky enough to be present will never forget the feeling of euphoria they had seeing Mane, goalkeeper Edouard Mendy and captain Kalidou Koulibaly, suspended for the final, lift the trophy.
Back home, the hundreds of thousands that lined the streets will take to their death beds a vision of their heroes going past on an open-top bus parade. They camped overnight and waited all day to catch even a glimpse of Mane and Co. It was worth it.
But now, two months later, we are told all those memories are meaningless. CAF, the African football federation, has overturned the result and said that Senegal forfeited the match when they walked off the pitch (with the score locked at 0-0) in anger at a penalty awarded by Jean-Jacques Ndala of DR Congo.
After 17 minutes of Senegal refusing to play on, with anger also stemming from a soft foul given to disallow a goal at the other end, Diaz took the penalty but it was saved by former Chelsea goalkeeper Mendy. Villarreal’s Pape Gueye then scored what we all considered to be the winner in extra time.
A statement from CAF said Senegal had been ‘declared to have forfeited the final match’ when they walked off the pitch and Morocco were now 3-0 victors.
Senegal will appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and said it was ‘an unfair, unprecedented and unacceptable decision which brings discredit to African football’.
CAF have overturned the result and said that Senegal forfeited the match (then 0-0) when they walked off the pitch in anger at a penalty given by Jean-Jacques Ndala of DR Congo
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Back in Senegal, the hundreds of thousands that lined the streets will take to their death beds a vision of their heroes going past on an open-top bus parade
And it does. It is the timing of the decision which is the main issue. If CAF had announced this decision there and then, when Pape Thiaw ordered his men to leave the pitch, then that would have been perfectly understandable.
Yes, the refereeing decision was abysmal and the stakes in this match were as high as they come, but it sets a dangerous precedent to walk off in protest. If such behaviour was common, no Premier League match would ever finish given the incompetence of some of our officials.
But this is a stinking decision to make two months on from the night in question. A ‘travesty’ as Senegal’s federation said. It will be the same if Manchester City’s legal battle is ever resolved. They could take the titles away, but try taking away the feeling of Sergio Aguero’s last-minute, title-clinching goal against QPR in 2012.
An asterisk in the history books would never alter the fact that that is the best moment of most City fans’ lives, alongside the Champions League win in Istanbul. It is the same for Senegal. CAF can take away the trophy, but they can never take away the emotion of that night in Rabat.
By chance, I was at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night when the news broke about CAF’s U-turn. I glanced down at Diaz on the Real Madrid bench, having played most of the game in their victory over Pep Guardiola’s side.
He may have smiled, laughed and held an imaginary trophy aloft as he went over to the away end at full-time, but what will be his lasting memory of the only home AFCON he will ever play?
It will be missing the penalty that could have etched him into Moroccan folklore for ever. It will be wiping away tears as he watched Senegal lift the trophy he so desired. It will be the dark days that followed where he probably did not want to leave his home.
Senegal, their players and overjoyed fans with happy memories for life, will always be the true champions. CAF and president Patrice Motsepe will be remembered as losers. Morocco are only the winners on Wikipedia.
