THE BIG DEBATE: The 2026 Africa Cup of Nations final descended into chaos after Senegal’s players walked off the pitch in protest after Morocco were given a stoppage-time penalty
It was a final that’ll live long in the memory for all the wrong reasons. Senegal’s 1-0 victory over Morocco was decided by Pape Gueye’s brilliant goal, but the 2026 Africa Cup of Nations will always be remembered for what happened minutes before.
Gueye, alongside his Senegal team-mates, had just spent 17 minutes off the pitch, as they protested a penalty which was awarded to hosts Morocco in the dying embers with the game still goalless. Manager Pape Thiaw had ordered his players to walk off and it took their star man, Sadio Mane, to draw them back out.
The penalty was finally taken, only for Brahim Diaz to miss in humiliating fashion. The former Manchester City winger, now of Real Madrid, tried a Panenka which floated into the arms of ex-Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.
After Senegal ran out winners in extra-time, many felt that justice was done. But were they right to walk off and should they face punishment?
We asked the Mirror Football team for their verdicts.
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John Cross
Absolutely not. It goes against the essence of sport. Ultimately, we are all fans who get upset by bad or controversial decisions. But, sadly, it’s a part of the game. And nothing excuses what happened next. We cannot start walking off at every turn.
And as if to prove their error, Senegal manager Pape Thiaw even said: “We shouldn’t have done it but it’s done and now we present our apologies to football.”
The only person to emerge with real credit was Sadio Mane, who stayed on the pitch and tried to get his team-mates back on. He is a truly great person, sportsman and a real legend. What a nice man, too.
I’ve enjoyed AFCON so much. It’s still on my bucket list because I have never been fortunate enough to go. I absolutely hate the way the tournament is disrespected by so many in the game. We’d never treat the Euros with such contempt.
And even now, people are painting it as a bad look for Africa. No, it’s a bad look for football. Do not start using this as another excuse to deride AFCON.
Were Senegal right to walk off? Have your say in the comments section.
Andy Dunn
The other day, there was a six-minute wait for an offside decision in an English club game, so perhaps waiting a quarter of an hour or so for a penalty to be taken in the dying stages of a major international tournament is not too bad.
In all seriousness, a team should not walk off as Senegal did, no matter how controversial the moment. And they should face some sort of punishment, although what form that will take is anybody’s guess.
That they were not penalised on the night is just about excusable. It is safe to say these were exceptional circumstances in an atmosphere that was clearly febrile. But having said that, the actions of the Senegal team and manager Papa Thiaw must have made it even more febrile.
It is hard to think of a precedent for this type of incident but, moving forward, Senegal must be sanctioned and, for future tournaments, regulations put in place that make a walk-off that is in protest at a refereeing decision punishable by forfeiture of the match.
Jeremy Cross
Pape Thiaw should never be allowed to manage a football team again. In one fell swoop, the Senegal manager brought utter shame on himself, his nation and the entire continent.
The Africa Cup of Nations is one of the biggest tournaments in the sport. But thanks to the cretinous actions of Thiaw, its reputation and prestige will now be forever stained. If a manager decided to haul his side off the pitch every time he didn’t agree with some of the referee’s decisions, we’d never reach the end of them.
But take a bow to former Liverpool star Sadio Mane, who stayed out there in an attempt to get his team-mates to finish the game. One of the few, it seems, with some actual common sense.
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James Whaling
There is no bigger pressure cooker in football than a major final – especially at international level. We have seen how much AFCON means to its participants in what has been a wonderfully colourful tournament over the last few weeks.
Should Pape Thiaw have removed his players from the pitch? Probably not. But I fully understand why he did. And let’s face it – it was absolute box office. Senegal’s disallowed goal was nonsense. I don’t think the penalty award in isolation would have caused anywhere near as much controversy as it did had it not immediately followed the disallowed goal.
Ultimately, justice was done and we got one of the most entertaining passages of play in football history to boot. Everyone’s a winner, except the Moroccans.
Sam Meade
In no way can Senegal justify their antics. It sets a horrific precedent if a team and their staff can almost refuse to play if they don’t like a controversial decision. We’re not on the school playground.
Had it not been for Sadio Mane, who knows whether the game would’ve restarted. They ran out winners by the end, but there’s certainly a case for their actions having a psychological impact on their opponents and Diaz, who obviously missed the penalty.
It does shine a light on the responsibility referees have, and the emotion that can come from that as a result. In no way is it an excuse, but the standard of officiating around the world is often called out. With VAR at your disposal you cannot get big decisions in big games wrong.
But I hope we never see a repeat of what Senegal pulled in that final, and it definitely leaves a sour taste.
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