THE MOROCCO HORROR PICTURE SHOW
Table of Contents
There was a lot of childish behavior on show at the Afcon final last night,some of it perpetrated by actual children. Despite not playing so much as a minute for Senegal during the tournament,thier substitute Yehvann Diouf was arguably his side’s man of the match,so heroic was the lone stand he took near Édouard Mendy’s goal literally fighting off a succession of Moroccan ball boys and substitutes who repeatedly tried to steal the towel which his fellow goalkeeper was using to keep his gloves dry. Never mind the wet conditions, Mendy could have slathered his Uhlsport mitts with copious amounts of butter and still comfortably held the pitiful Panenka gently floated his way from the penalty spot with what should have been the winner and the final kick of the game by Morocco’s Brahim Díaz.while conspiracy theorists have suggested the tournament’s top scorer may have agreed to miss on purpose in the interests of sportsmanship, Mendy scoffed at the notion. “No of course not,” he said. “Let’s be serious.” upon being presented with his golden boot by Gianni Infantino, Díaz looked a genuinely broken man and quite possibly told the Fifa president to just add his trophy to the burgeoning collection of shiny football memorabilia owned by his american bestie in the White House.
Almost certainly the best run tournament in Afcon history as far as infrastructure is concerned, this year’s iteration has been plagued by some breathtakingly bad officiating, which played no small part in the descent of last night’s final into total and utter chaos. Having had a goal chalked off in what seemed like extremely unfair circumstances, Senegal were so incensed when Jean-Jacques Ngambo awarded Morocco their Andrex-soft penalty in the eighth minute of added time that head coach Pape Thiaw led most of his players off the pitch in protest, prompting a 15-minute delay to give Díaz plenty of time to ponder the most preposterous circumstances imaginable in which to miss the most momentous kick of his life.While Senegal went on to win one of the weirdest finals in football history courtesy of a Papa Gueye rocket, they now face sanctions for their petulance in a state of affairs that is unlikely to bother them in the slightest.
“We strongly condemn the behaviour of some ‘supporters’ as well as some Senegalese players and technical staff members,” tut-tutted gianni, before suggesting Senegal will be poorly represented on the shortlist for the next Fifa peace prize. “It is indeed unacceptable to leave the field of play in this manner, and equally, violence cannot be tolerated in our sport, it is simply not right.” The Confederation of African Football (Caf) also weighed in with a portentous statement, adding that an inquiry would be held and anyone found guilty of shenanigans would feel t
There are many ways to achieve greatness in sport. A true pinnacle of greatness was clear when Sadio Mané single-handedly saved the 2026 Afcon final from an ignominious ending. Amid the ego and high dudgeon of the Senegalese wrong-headed manager, who called his players off the field, Mané was bigger than that.He understood that calls are frequently enough seen as unequal, and the game has hard knocks, but that the reputation of his team, of Afcon, and so much was bigger than the manager’s and some teammates’ fits of pique. He brought his teammates and the gaffer back, so that the match could play itself out. and what a last 30 minutes of ‘heavy metal football’ (yes, I’m a Kloppite). To my mind a fitting and just ending, from Gueye’s fabulous strike. Mané was a leader and a star at Anfield, his leadership in Morocco earns him a place in the pantheon of football’s greats” – Mark Quigley.
Further to my letter of consolation to Crystal Palace fans (last Tuesday’s Football Daily letters), and in the light of events from Friday … sorry, I’ve got nothing” – Gumley Slats.
If you have any, please send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s winner of our letter o’ the day is … Justin Kavanagh, who lands some hot Football Weekly merch. Terms and conditions for our competitions are here.
RECOMMENDED LISTENING
Spain’s Aitana Bonmatí has warned opponents she will come back stronger than ever after recovering from a broken leg. “In my mind, I want to come back better than I was before, and I’m taking this time to stay calm and to recover the energy,” she said.
And there’s a growing sense of embarrassment at Fifa over that Donald Trump peace prize.
STILL WANT MORE?
Ten Premier League talking points from the weekend, as Manchester United thrive and the top four all stumble.
John Brewin on how Michael Carrick restored a sense of dogged spirit to help United outplay City in the Manchester derby.
Jacob Steinberg watched Tottenham lose again and writes here that it is indeed so toxic at Spurs even West Ham were shocked.Katie McCabe talks to Suzanne Wrack about arsenal, passion and WCL partying.
for his versatility (once scoring a hat-trick for Liverpool as a makeshift striker in 1989) and this even extended to a stint in goal for the Reds in a fiery derby against Everton in September 1999. After kevin Campbell had given Everton an early lead,the game erupted in the 75th minute after Sander Westerveld traded blows with Everton striker Francis Jeffers – both players were sent off. with all three substitutes already made by Gérard Houllier, Staunton donned the gloves and kept a clean sheet for the final 15 minutes at Anfield, including an incredible save to deny Everton’s Abel xavier and keep Liverpool in the game, but the Toffees held out for a 1-0 win – aided by the home side being reduced to nine men (a 19-year-old Steven Gerrard flying into Campbell with a knee-high challenge) in stoppage time. You can read more on that game and Campbell’s goal in this article, part of our Golden Goal series.
