PHOTO by AFP
Chairs used as weapons as footage shows Senegal fans and stewards fight as AFCON violence spills onto pitch and riot police called, prompting former Nigeria midfielder John Obi Mikel to say: “For African football, this is a shameful end to this tournament… I don’t know who is the winner.”
He added: “I can understand their (Senegal) frustration but walking off the pitch is not what I want to see,” Obi said on E4 live commentary.
Riot police were called to the Africa Cup of Nations final after some disturbing fan violence in the closing stages of normal time.
Fury was sparked in the Senegal camp after host nation Morocco were awarded a controversial penalty deep into stoppage-time in Rabat.
El Hadji Malick Diouf was penalised for pulling down Brahim Diaz in the Senegal box, prompting Senegal manager Pape Thiaw to order his players off the pitch.
The incident came shortly after Senegal had seen a goal of their own ruled out earlier in stoppage time.
Some of the Senegal players even stormed down the tunnel but after several minutes made their way back onto the field of play.
And in even more dramatic circumstances, which led to stoppage-time lasting for 24 minutes, Diaz missed the resulting spot-kick with a poorly taken Panenka penalty which was easily caught by Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.
There was plenty of bad blood between the players and coaches of the two nations, and footage shows there were some very unsavoury scenes in the stands too.
A section of the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium where some of the Senegal fans were housed saw fans of the away side clashing with stewards.
In even more shocking scenes, chairs were used as weapons in the mayhem as the violence spilled onto the pitch.
Things later calmed down but riot police were later seen gathering in front of the area of the stadium where the crowd trouble originated from as the rest of the final continued.
Having seemed destined to lose the final due to the controversial penalty, Senegal against the odds won a second AFCON title in the last three editions of the tournament.
A sublime left-footed strike by Pape Gueye four minutes into extra time proved to be the decisive moment to seal Senegal a 1-0 win.
Substitute Ismaila Sarr thought he had won it for Senegal in normal time until referee Jean-Jacques Ndala ruled out his header for a foul by Abdoulaye Seck.
The drama continued when, having been advised to review Diouf’s challenge on Diaz, the referee pointed to the spot, prompting a furious Thiaw to send most of his players to the dressing room.
They returned after a 16-minute hiatus to see Diaz, the tournament’s leading scorer with five goals, pass up the chance to hand Morocco the title for the first time in 50 years with his sixth when he chipped the spot-kick straight into Mendy’s arms as he stood tall 24 minutes into stoppage time.
Thiaw’s men, fuelled by a sense of injustice, regrouped and forced their way in front when Gueye surged forward and blasted a left-foot piledriver past Bounou and in off the underside of the crossbar.
Bounou denied Cherif Ndiaye a second with a stunning double save and Gueye’s contribution ultimately proved decisive.
-talkSPORT
