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‘Sadio Mane told us to come back’: Senegal star on penalty chaos and walk-off protest in AFCON final
Papa Gueye revealed that Sadio Mane had urged the Senegal players to finish the AFCON final.
Senegal's AFCON final victory was a controversial affair, and match-winner Papa Gueye feels that his team were motivated by a sense of injustice after a controversial penalty was awarded to Morocco, which led to chaotic scenes. Morocco was given the penalty deep in injury time with the score still goalless. The penalty was given after a VAR check for a tackle on Brahim Diaz.
Reacting to the decision, some Senegal players walked off the pitch in anger. Meanwhile, the stads saw trouble as Senegalese fans tried to enter the field of play. The match was halted for almost 20 minutes before Diaz could take the penalty, and it was saved by goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.
Also Read: Senegal clinch AFCON title in chaotic final against Morocco after walk-off protest and controversial penalty decision
Then, in the fourth minute of extra time, Gueye scored a wonderful goal to help his team seal a 1-0 win.
‘Feeling of injustice’
After the match, Gueye revealed that Sadio Mane had urged the Senegal players to finish the game. "We had a feeling of injustice. Just before the penalty, we thought we should have had a goal, and the referee didn't go to VAR. Sadio told us to come back on, and we remobilised. Edouard then made the save, we stayed focused, got the goal and won the game," he said.
Meanwhile, Senegal coach Pape Thiaw said, "After thinking about it, I realised that I shouldn't have asked them to go off. I apologise for that."
“Sometimes you can react in the heat of the moment. Before that we scored a goal that was not given. But now we accept that referees do make mistakes and we apologise,” he added.
After the match, Mendy was also asked about the protest. He said, "What did we say to each other? That's between us. We did it together and we came back together, that's all that matters."
"He attempted the Panenka, but I stayed on my feet. We kept the team in the game, and I helped my team at that moment," he added.
