The 2025 Afcon final match between Morocco and Senegal was characterised by mayhem, bedlam, pandemonium and drama following the controversial penalty decision by DR Congo international referee Jean-Jacques Ndala.
Despite all the chaos, it was Senegal who prevailed and were crowned the Afcon champions after beating Morocco 1-0 in extra time to silence the rowdy Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium crowd.
Papa Gueye’s super strike a few minutes into extra time was enough to guide Senegal to their third Afcon crown.
For Morocco, their hearts will undoubtedly be broken, as their dream of winning their first Afcon since 1976 on home soil was shattered.
Tale of two halves
Sunday’s final was a game of two halves, as Senegal created more clear-cut goal-scoring opportunities and could have gone into the break with a lead had dribbling wizard Iliman Ndiaye buried his chance one-on-one against super goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.
Morocco came back in the second half much stronger and also had their fair share of chances that could have put them in front, with talisman Ayoub El Kaabi getting a golden opportunity to break the tie. But his effort at close range went wide of the post.
Right at the death in stoppage time, drama and pandemonium erupted after whistleman Ndala awarded the home side a controversial penalty in the last minute of the game after Malick Diouf fouled Brahim Diaz inside the box.
That decision by the referee was not received well by the entire Senegalese team, including the technical team, as they felt they were being hard done by the referee, who denied their goal a few minutes prior to his vexed decision.
This led to the point where the Senegalese players threatened to protest the game, as they walked off the pitch and down the tunnel.
But after some minutes of deliberation, the Lions of Teranga eventually returned to the pitch and faced the situation.
Golden opportunity missed
Brahim Diaz stepped up, carrying the hopes of millions of Moroccans on his shoulders from the penalty spot, but his attempted Panenka was saved by legendary goalkeeper Édouard Mendy to take the game to extra time sensationally, and ultimately they won the game 1-0 through Gueye’s solitary goal.
