Senegal coach opens up on asking his players to walk off the pitch during AFCON final: I apologise to football

Senegal coach Pape Bouna Thiaw issued a public apology after the Africa Cup of Nations final between Senegal and Morocco witnessed some ugly scenes, which have also been condemned by FIFA President Gianni Infantino. The dying minutes of the summit clash saw the Senegal coach ask his players to walk off the pitch after a penalty was awarded to Morocco. Several of the members of the Senegal team started to leave their way out of the pitc,h but it was seasoned Sadio Mane who ensured that the game went on without any trouble.

Mane was the one who asked the coach to reverse his decision. He called the rest of his teammates back, and at last, the side managed to score a goal in extra time to clinch the title. The scenes turned ugly after Senegal began protesting a disallowed goal, and the referee Jean-Jacques Ndala on the other side subsequently awarded a penalty to Morocco’s Brahim Diaz after a VAR check. The VAR deemed the shirt tug on Diaz by El Hadji Malick Diouf as a foul.

After the final concluded, Senegal’s coach spoke to reporters in the mixed zone, where he apologised for his actions on the sidelines.

“We did not agree with the decision; that is all, and I do not want to go back over what happened in this match. After reflecting, I really did not like telling my players to leave the pitch. I apologise to football. I brought them back,” Thiaw told beIN Sports in the mixed zone after the AFCON final.

“Sometimes you can react in the heat of the moment. We asked ourselves whether that penalty could have been given if our goal before that had been allowed. But now we accept the referee’s mistakes, which can happen. We should not have done it, but it is already done. We apologise,” he added.

After the final, Morocco head coach Walid Regragui, with whom Thiaw clashed after the last whistle, also gave his take on the entire incident, saying the scenes did not paint a pretty picture.

“The image Africa showed today is a bit shameful. When a coach tells his players to leave the pitch… As I said, in the end, you always have to remain classy, in defeat as well as in victory. What Pape did tonight does not honour Africa. It was not classy, but it does not matter, he is the African champion, so he has the right to say whatever he wants,” he said.