Pape Gueye scores in a 1-0 win following extra time after Senegal leave the field in protest at penalty decision.
Senegal stormed off the field in protest at a penalty awarded against them before returning to beat hosts Morocco 1-0 after extra time, and win the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), amid farcical scenes in the final.
Midfielder Pape Gueye netted the 94th-minute winner on Sunday, after Morocco’s star player Brahim Diaz squandered the chance to win it for the home side by fluffing the last-gasp penalty in normal time following a 14-minute delay.
Senegal coach Pape Bouna Thiaw ordered his players off, and it was talisman Sadio Mane who persuaded them to return.
The penalty was awarded following a VAR check by Congolese referee Jean-Jacques Ndala after Diaz had been tugged to the ground by Senegal full-back El Hadji Malick Diouf while defending a corner kick five minutes into stoppage time.
Officials and players jostled with each other while the referee consulted the touchline screen, and then again when Senegal walked off.
Once the players returned to the field, Diaz inexplicably tried a Panenka-style chip, and his soft penalty effort sailed tamely into the arms of Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.
Senegal’s actions will be seen as a major blight on an otherwise successful tournament, although defeat continues Morocco’s poor record in the tournament, which they only previously won 50 years ago.
The Senegal team had initially been riled by the referee’s decision to disallow for a foul a goal they scored in the second added minute, when Abdoulaye Seck headed off the post at a corner, and Ismaila Sarr nodded in the rebound.
After Diaz’s penalty miss, however, it felt almost inevitable that a galvanised Senegal would go on to score, and they did so in the fourth minute of extra time to stun the home fans in the crowd of 66,526 at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium.
Mane won possession in midfield and found Idrissa Gana Gueye, who released his namesake Pape Gueye.
The Villarreal midfielder held off the backtracking Moroccan captain Achraf Hakimi as he advanced towards the box, before beating goalkeeper Yassine Bounou with a superb strike into the top corner.
Morocco were distraught, in particular Diaz, who was promptly substituted.
They could still have forced a penalty shootout, with Nayef Aguerd heading against the crossbar in the second half of extra time.
But it was not to be for the hosts, who had been dreaming of winning the title in front of their own fans to end a 50-year wait to become African champions for just the second time.
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