Edouard Mendy said football was the winner after Senegal defeated Morocco in a remarkable Africa Cup of Nations final, having earlier left the pitch in protest and refusing to play.
Thanks to Pape Gueye’s stunning goal in extra-time, the Lions of Teranga defeated the hosts 1-0 in Rabat to lift the trophy for the second time. But that doesn’t begin to tell the story of a chaotic showpiece match.
After 90 relatively quiet minutes, Senegal’s Ismaila Sarr had a goal disallowed for a foul in the build-up, after which El Hadji Malick Diouf was penalized for dragging Brahim Diaz from a Morocco corner five minutes into stoppage time.
Senegal’s players and staff were outraged by that decision, with head coach Pape Thiaw leading them back to the dressing room in protest while star striker Sadio Mane urged them to play on.
The penalty wasn’t taken until the 24th minute of stoppage time, and when it was, Diaz’s terrible Panenka was easily saved by Mendy.
And after Pape Gueye settled matters with his left-footed piledriver – the first goal Senegal scored in their four AFCON final appearances – Mendy said justice had been served.
“We are not going to talk about things in the heat of the moment, things have happened, but in the end what you have to remember is that football won,” he told BeIN Sports.
“Morocco has been waiting for this trophy for more than fifty years, they had everything in their favor, but we responded in our own way and tonight Senegal can celebrate.”
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