Walid Regragui slammed Pape Thiaw after Senegal’s players walked off the pitch during the 98th-minute VAR review that awarded Morocco a penalty in the 2025 AFCON final, calling the protest shameful and arguing the resulting 14-to-17-minute delay unsettled Brahim Diaz before his saved Panenka attempt.
The flashpoint arrived in the 98th minute of second-half stoppage time with the score locked at 0-0. Referee Jean-Jacques Ndala had just disallowed a Senegal goal from Ismaila Sarr before awarding Morocco a penalty following a VAR review. Replays showed defender El Hadji Malick Diouf grabbing Brahim Diaz around the shoulder and neck, bringing him down inside the box. The decision, coming so soon after the disallowed goal, angered Senegal’s bench and players.
Thiaw responded by ordering his players off the pitch and toward the dressing room in protest, a move that halted the match for between 14 and 17 minutes. Only Sadio Mane initially stayed on the field before helping persuade his teammates to return. The walk-off was widely described as unprecedented in a major continental final and a clear breach of AFCON rules. Thiaw later apologized publicly, admitting the decision to pull his players off was wrong.
By the time Diaz stepped up to take the penalty, roughly 17 minutes had passed since the award. The Real Madrid forward attempted a chipped Panenka, but Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy saved it comfortably. Regragui said afterward that the long delay had unsettled Diaz, though he insisted his team still had to accept responsibility for the miss.
Senegal went ahead in extra time when Pape Gueye scored four minutes into the additional period, a result that stood on the night before CAF’s later intervention. Regragui directed sharp criticism at Thiaw over the walk-off, calling the conduct shameful and damaging to African football’s image. Brahim Diaz’s miss overshadowed the record of Morocco’s most capped players, a list of legends the nation hoped he might one day join.
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