African Football Discussion Thread Current Topic: 👉 AFCON 2025/2026

[EL MOHA]

The penalty that was missed by Diaz was staged. The way he threw the ball, the reaction of Morocco and Senegal players and what happened before the penalty are clear arguments for this shot.
Diaz was instructed to do that and Senegal goalkeeper was told how the ball will be shot. Morocco wants to win the game and get the cup after 50 years at least but what they want most is to see the match finishing and everyone cheering the way they organised it. Senegal coach pushed them to the limit when he forced his players to retreat from the field and to boycott the match at its end because of the ridiculous referee decisions. Morocco management decided to sacrifice the penalty so they can finish the game.

I can bet on this, that it was a lie and there was nothing stage, I think you need to actually watch other clips of videos before that penalty kick where Mendy was actually having almost a fight with the other players before the penalty was retaken I think that would have not happened if knows the penalty was staged. I have seen this propaganda of Ibrahim Diaz actually not trying to score the penalty kick and with other players reaction and that of the kicker himself throughout the game I doubt it was stage.

You think a nation that can be doing something disgusting as throwing away the goalkeeper towels will actually be honorable enough to through away a chance of winning a competition that they haven’t won in close to 50 years? I strongly doubt that with the apology letter the Ibrahim Diaz wrote out to the fans.
It’s simply best to say that he attempted a panenka and the goalkeeper was brilliant enough to save it and for me that’s the right thing to say

Morocco almost tarnished the image of the African cup of Nations, I don't think they almost did but they did tarnish the image of African football something that took so long to build.
How can you host the African cup of Nations and now feel entitled to lifting the title it does not even make any sense to me. The towel incidence with goal keepers still baffles me, I was also very disgusted to see Hakimi with so much exposure doing it, taking the goal keeper's towel and throwing it away.

The fact that it whole happened in the Nigeria game before is actually the most disgusting thing because right after that had happened CAF as a proper body would have taken action for that not to happened again in the final but they turned a blind eye with security just watching. If this had happened maybe in club football games where there is an away game I will call if taunting method but an host nation actually does this is simply not the right way in my opinion

[MorganaX]

Morocco almost tarnished the image of the African cup of Nations, I don't think they almost did but they did tarnish the image of African football something that took so long to build.
How can you host the African cup of Nations and now feel entitled to lifting the title it does not even make any sense to me. The towel incidence with goal keepers still baffles me, I was also very disgusted to see Hakimi with so much exposure doing it, taking the goal keeper's towel and throwing it away.

The unsportsmanship from Morocco was very unnecessary. They were acting like they already had an agreement with CAF to win the tournament and must win regardless of how it happens. Ball boys were hostile to opposing team players and even taking away the hand towels of goalkeepers. Even after their defeat yesterday, Moroccan media personnels walked out of the press room when Senegal nation coach was about to be interviewed and that disrupted the process.
It's a big shame and I'm looking forward to how CAF will react to the situation because they actually need to be sanctioned.

I believe it is an ey opening already for such not to happen again. That is true if what you said, it was assumed they are going to win the AFCON of nation no matter what or how it may happen, because to them it has already been designed like that for them to win it. To be honest it was very embarrassing when all this shit you made mention was Happening, I never expected the Moroccan to be acting like this. Well this is football and anything can happen.

[Smartvirus]

Morocco almost tarnished the image of the African cup of Nations, I don't think they almost did but they did tarnish the image of African football something that took so long to build.
How can you host the African cup of Nations and now feel entitled to lifting the title it does not even make any sense to me. The towel incidence with goal keepers still baffles me, I was also very disgusted to see Hakimi with so much exposure doing it, taking the goal keeper's towel and throwing it away.

The fact that it whole happened in the Nigeria game before is actually the most disgusting thing because right after that had happened CAF as a proper body would have taken action for that not to happened again in the final but they turned a blind eye with security just watching. If this had happened maybe in club football games where there is an away game I will call if taunting method but an host nation actually does this is simply not the right way in my opinion

Well, I wouldn’t say they feel entitled to win but, they just wanted to make that history for themselves to host and win and so, they did a little way more and went out of their way to the extent that, they felt they could infringe on the tournament.

The towel incident was one act that seemed funny to some but, a very disgusting and disgraceful act. What was even more surprising was, the players were in on it. I saw Hakimi even took one of Mendy’s towel and threw it over the barricade. A captain, involved in this act, such length but, as the tournament would have it, Senegal won the season. There little protest was unwise though.

[snipie]

The penalty that was missed by Diaz was staged. The way he threw the ball, the reaction of Morocco and Senegal players and what happened before the penalty are clear arguments for this shot.
Diaz was instructed to do that and Senegal goalkeeper was told how the ball will be shot. Morocco wants to win the game and get the cup after 50 years at least but what they want most is to see the match finishing and everyone cheering the way they organised it. Senegal coach pushed them to the limit when he forced his players to retreat from the field and to boycott the match at its end because of the ridiculous referee decisions. Morocco management decided to sacrifice the penalty so they can finish the game.

I can bet on this, that it was a lie and there was nothing stage, I think you need to actually watch other clips of videos before that penalty kick where Mendy was actually having almost a fight with the other players before the penalty was retaken I think that would have not happened if knows the penalty was staged. I have seen this propaganda of Ibrahim Diaz actually not trying to score the penalty kick and with other players reaction and that of the kicker himself throughout the game I doubt it was stage.

You think a nation that can be doing something disgusting as throwing away the goalkeeper towels will actually be honorable enough to through away a chance of winning a competition that they haven’t won in close to 50 years? I strongly doubt that with the apology letter the Ibrahim Diaz wrote out to the fans.
It’s simply best to say that he attempted a panenka and the goalkeeper was brilliant enough to save it and for me that’s the right thing to say

The whole situation was strange and push people to speculate. Diaz knows very well that the penalty could be a game changer for Morocco so he will try to score directly not using a fake panenka penalty. It is the worst way you try to score with. Even a kid can stop that ball.
As I said earlier, Senegal won this competition because they were good and more disciplined. Morocco counted on exhausting their rivals before the game which was a failure.

[Zigabel]

I believe it is an ey opening already for such not to happen again. That is true if what you said, it was assumed they are going to win the AFCON of nation no matter what or how it may happen, because to them it has already been designed like that for them to win it. To be honest it was very embarrassing when all this shit you made mention was Happening, I never expected the Moroccan to be acting like this. Well this is football and anything can happen.

It was embarrassing to see the host country behaving in a manner as such, I had expected more from them but sadly they showed how boor in attitude they can be, it speaks so much of desperation, they were just so desperate to win the title, and there is no rule that a hosting team must win so I don't see why they were so about winning  as the host meanwhile they could be fair with their coordination and be considered some really Noble host bit they chose the path of terrible representation.

[Rgram]

The whole situation was strange and push people to speculate. Diaz knows very well that the penalty could be a game changer for Morocco so he will try to score directly not using a fake panenka penalty. It is the worst way you try to score with. Even a kid can stop that ball.
As I said earlier, Senegal won this competition because they were good and more disciplined. Morocco counted on exhausting their rivals before the game which was a failure.

This would be another mystery of football for a long time, where the rest of the world would be wondering just what happened there at the AFCON finals. The Panenka of Bahim Diaz at such a time when it was just a goal and not just the game but the tournament is won for Morocco. It’s really difficult to speculate on how that went and the weight Brahim Diaz have got to carry.
Senegal deserved to win the trophy though, they were the better team in the finals and won squarely.

[Iroh]

The manner in which Diaz missed the penalty was unbelievable, I guess that is why some people think for a certain that it was intentional.

In developing news, The football body in Morocco wants to take legal actions against Senegal for leaving the field in the finals, they believe it contributed to the poorly taken penalty kick from Diaz, the penalty kick some people still believe he missed on purpose.

https://nigerianbulletin.com/ams/morocco-to-pursue-legal-action-against-senegal-over-afcon-final-walk-off-protest.23473/

Yeah, i can understand people being pissed off cause of that penalty kick. It kinda looked like he merely passed the ball to the goalie who readily caught it. Perhaps Diaz felt the goalie would quickly pick a side to dive toward to leaving the middle free. That was what came to my mind when I saw the penalty kick but I must admit, he could have done much better.
I read the article you posted. I would say that they're just clutching at straws. Senegal won the competition in the end and whatever legal action they plan on taking to undermine the hard work Senegal put in to win the tournament would be unproductive.

[SatoPrincess]

What's the obsession with the goalkeepers towel from Morocco fans?! They did that against Nigerian Nwabali and they pull that up again yesterday night with Mendy. There's also a video of Hakimi doing the same.

Morocco were trying to get an unfair advantage. They know the goalkeepers need the towels to dry their gloves so the ball doesn’t slip off their gloves. It’s shameful that Morocco had to stoop to using dirty tricks to win their games. 

I just read the story about the Moroccan ball boys who stole the towels from the goalkeepers, in order to prevent them to properly clean/dry the gloves. And it's ridicolous. And then I saw the video of the Moroccan ball boys literally assaulting Senegal's second goalkeeper, Diouf, who, knowing what they were going to do, was standing the to the goal holding the towel in his hands, and since he wasn't giving them the towel they pushed him and put their hands on him. How is this even allowed?! I'm so glad Senegal win, this was pure karma. I really hope we'll never see something like this ever again.

It’s ironic that Morocco was given the Fair Play Award right after the world saw how they treat opposing players. They deserve to be punished by CAF, not given an award.

[Jostern]

Morocco almost tarnished the image of the African cup of Nations, I don't think they almost did but they did tarnish the image of African football something that took so long to build.
How can you host the African cup of Nations and now feel entitled to lifting the title it does not even make any sense to me. The towel incidence with goal keepers still baffles me, I was also very disgusted to see Hakimi with so much exposure doing it, taking the goal keeper's towel and throwing it away.

What do you even mean by Morocco tarnishing the image of African football ? I know what was happening of the pitch was absolutely wrong from the Morocco fans and security personnel, but I’m more concerned about what the Senegalese players and coaching crew and technical teams did and fans during the Final, because that was what everyone saw close and the whole World watching, in football you’re meant to respect the decision of the referee because they officiate by the rules, a manager asking his players to leave the pitch because of the decision have gone against him is totally unacceptable and shameful in football, and the Senegalese team is a disgrace to African football for walking off the pitch and FIFA and CAF have condemned this behavior and I believe they will be punished accordingly for this utterly disgusting behavior from the Senegalese.

[Franctoshi]

What's the obsession with the goalkeepers towel from Morocco fans?! They did that against Nigerian Nwabali and they pull that up again yesterday night with Mendy. There's also a video of Hakimi doing the same.

Morocco were trying to get an unfair advantage. They know the goalkeepers need the towels to dry their gloves so the ball doesn’t slip off their gloves. It’s shameful that Morocco had to stoop to using dirty tricks to win their games.  

I just read the story about the Moroccan ball boys who stole the towels from the goalkeepers, in order to prevent them to properly clean/dry the gloves. And it's ridicolous. And then I saw the video of the Moroccan ball boys literally assaulting Senegal's second goalkeeper, Diouf, who, knowing what they were going to do, was standing the to the goal holding the towel in his hands, and since he wasn't giving them the towel they pushed him and put their hands on him. How is this even allowed?! I'm so glad Senegal win, this was pure karma. I really hope we'll never see something like this ever again.

It’s ironic that Morocco was given the Fair Play Award right after the world saw how they treat opposing players. They deserve to be punished by CAF, not given an award.

CAF is dead, whole system rigged. That's why they can't get it right, Africa is far from the real football practices. How many of our coaches and refs are called to officiate on the international sceen. Bribery and daytime football robbery that's what was displayed by Moroccans. Hosting a tournament in your country doesn't give you an edge to rob or become a must trophy 🏆 win.

The FIFA body are the one to look into this matter appropriately and not even the CAF, because we will still see politics take effect and the matter won't hold water, case closed.

[Ndabagi01]

This would be another mystery of football for a long time, where the rest of the world would be wondering just what happened there at the AFCON finals. The Panenka of Bahim Diaz at such a time when it was just a goal and not just the game but the tournament is won for Morocco. It’s really difficult to speculate on how that went and the weight Brahim Diaz have got to carry.
Senegal deserved to win the trophy though, they were the better team in the finals and won squarely.

I think we should give more credit to Senegal for a very good performance in the AFCON. Making it to the finals and the method in which they performed throughout their games to make it there shows how strong and determined they were to win the title. I commend their brilliant performance and their coordination even in the finals when the game was beginning to feel like the host nation has hijacked everything. As for Brahim Diaz, that one last chance for the team to have won the African Cup of Nations will forever remain a torn in his heart until the country gets to win the trophy or do better in the World Cup.

[Oluwa-btc]

The penalty that was missed by Diaz was staged. The way he threw the ball, the reaction of Morocco and Senegal players and what happened before the penalty are clear arguments for this shot.
Diaz was instructed to do that and Senegal goalkeeper was told how the ball will be shot. Morocco wants to win the game and get the cup after 50 years at least but what they want most is to see the match finishing and everyone cheering the way they organised it. Senegal coach pushed them to the limit when he forced his players to retreat from the field and to boycott the match at its end because of the ridiculous referee decisions. Morocco management decided to sacrifice the penalty so they can finish the game.

I want to believe this is purely sarcasm because, why would you think a player who would want to be the best player of the tournament, have his name written in history as one who scored Morroco the penalty that won them the AFCON after 50 years and a possible chance of becoming the next African best would miss that penalty or have that staged?! I have read enough already lol.
 
And the Confederation of Africa can go ahead to sanction Senegalese manager but they can not sanctions Moroccan fans for towel grabbing?! They be doing everything to please Oyibo!!

[Ale88]

I just read the story about the Moroccan ball boys who stole the towels from the goalkeepers, in order to prevent them to properly clean/dry the gloves. And it's ridicolous. And then I saw the video of the Moroccan ball boys literally assaulting Senegal's second goalkeeper, Diouf, who, knowing what they were going to do, was standing the to the goal holding the towel in his hands, and since he wasn't giving them the towel they pushed him and put their hands on him. How is this even allowed?! I'm so glad Senegal win, this was pure karma. I really hope we'll never see something like this ever again.

It’s ironic that Morocco was given the Fair Play Award right after the world saw how they treat opposing players. They deserve to be punished by CAF, not given an award.

I didn't know about the Fair Play Award to Morocco but, at this point, I can't even say I'm surprised, they clearly wanted Morocco to win the competition. It's a pity to see this type of things because it really makes you wonder how far corruption can go. So many wrong things happened in this final, the CAF doesn't come out well, at all.

[Barikui1]

I didn't know about the Fair Play Award to Morocco but, at this point, I can't even say I'm surprised, they clearly wanted Morocco to win the competition. It's a pity to see this type of things because it really makes you wonder how far corruption can go. So many wrong things happened in this final, the CAF doesn't come out well, at all.

All my life watching afcon hosted by different nations across Africa, this is the first time caf which are the football governing body, were doing everything possible for the host nation to win it, all because no country came forward to host most of the African games, that it's only Morocco that showed willingness to host them all according to caf president, so you see the sentiment why they were doing everything possible for the Moroccan team to win it, which I think it's very shameful.
African nations cup have never seen a situation whereby the referee will be showing incompetency, because we actually have good referee's, but this tournament shows that they were fine-tuned to favour the Moroccan team and make sure they win it, which brought about this embarrassing situation in the finals.

Giving them best fair play team entails all we need to know, for a team that always steal the towel of the opposition team, no matter who they plays with. And the funny thing is that even their players, including hakimi was involved in steal the opposition goalkeepers towel, someone that has experience top flight football in Europe, that's really despicable.

[Emjay24]

Morocco almost tarnished the image of the African cup of Nations, I don't think they almost did but they did tarnish the image of African football something that took so long to build.
How can you host the African cup of Nations and now feel entitled to lifting the title it does not even make any sense to me. The towel incidence with goal keepers still baffles me, I was also very disgusted to see Hakimi with so much exposure doing it, taking the goal keeper's towel and throwing it away.

The unsportsmanship from Morocco was very unnecessary. They were acting like they already had an agreement with CAF to win the tournament and must win regardless of how it happens. Ball boys were hostile to opposing team players and even taking away the hand towels of goalkeepers. Even after their defeat yesterday, Moroccan media personnels walked out of the press room when Senegal nation coach was about to be interviewed and that disrupted the process.
It's a big shame and I'm looking forward to how CAF will react to the situation because they actually need to be sanctioned.

Unfortunately CAF is doing nothing about the hostility of Morocco towards other teams that they played, they are hell bent on punishing other players that displayed their unacceptance of the bullying from Morocco fans and ball boys. I don't even know if the refs were carefully selected to favour them.

It is very pleasing a result to know that despite all their tactics, they didn't win the trophy, I can assure you that a lot of people from various Africans nations were happy that Senegal won that trophy.

Personally  I don't like what the Senegal coach did to order his team out of the field, it was more like a tout behavior, although I could understand his frustration from the poor officiating of the match but he showed great indiscipline in a match of that level.

Hakimi tried a tactics to throw away Mendy's towel but a Senegalese player brought it back, so much controversy surrounding their matches. I am particularly happy for Senegal, Morocco never deserved the trophy.

[Iamgoat]

This would be another mystery of football for a long time, where the rest of the world would be wondering just what happened there at the AFCON finals. The Panenka of Bahim Diaz at such a time when it was just a goal and not just the game but the tournament is won for Morocco. It’s really difficult to speculate on how that went and the weight Brahim Diaz have got to carry.
Senegal deserved to win the trophy though, they were the better team in the finals and won squarely.

It was a monumental mistake made by Diaz to have played Panenka in such crucial time. The penalty shoot was so crucial to them they were not meant to play anything close to such at such a die minute but I will say this again the referee played a game of favoritism there to have even awarded the penalty at first. It was not penalty worthy to me, at least not at such a crucial time of such an important game like this. The scenario was not even a sure thing for the Moroccan is to say even if the foul didn't play out there was still not a guarantee of goal because the defender could have kind of deflected it still but I understand the referee was just playing a home advantage there and it in fact went on to further spoil their chances at it affected their confidence for the rest of the game.

I think we should give more credit to Senegal for a very good performance in the AFCON. Making it to the finals and the method in which they performed throughout their games to make it there shows how strong and determined they were to win the title. I commend their brilliant performance and their coordination even in the finals when the game was beginning to feel like the host nation has hijacked everything. As for Brahim Diaz, that one last chance for the team to have won the African Cup of Nations will forever remain a torn in his heart until the country gets to win the trophy or do better in the World Cup.

I like the humility expressed by the Senegalese players throughout the game, it shows they are spiritual people and this alone made me got interested in their wins. They applied all their efforts to the finals and the coach also formed a great support base for the team and immediately protested when they saw they were going to be cheated by the system. A firmer referee would have not blown the penalty and would prefer the game to the extra time regardless especially knowing fully well the situation is one which is highly contestable but decided to favor the Moroccan side which further led to their disaster because it gave the Senegal players the morale to score the next goal which was undeniable.

[Salahmu]

The unsportsmanship from Morocco was very unnecessary. They were acting like they already had an agreement with CAF to win the tournament and must win regardless of how it happens. Ball boys were hostile to opposing team players and even taking away the hand towels of goalkeepers. Even after their defeat yesterday, Moroccan media personnels walked out of the press room when Senegal nation coach was about to be interviewed and that disrupted the process.
It's a big shame and I'm looking forward to how CAF will react to the situation because they actually need to be sanctioned.

Morocco didn't behave like people who wants it by all means, a lot of them didn't like what the pictch was turning into, players that wants it regardless of not meriting it will not feel disappointed seeing there opponent in misery situation, as every country that wanted to win it that was how they also want the wining, I admit the referee that officiated when it was them and super eagles actually officiated like Morocco hand was involved and also some of the things they officiated on the finals but actually after everything and knowing that they could have still win if they had want to on the penalty I decided they do not forcely want it.

[Stepstowealth]

I just read the story about the Moroccan ball boys who stole the towels from the goalkeepers, in order to prevent them to properly clean/dry the gloves. And it's ridicolous. And then I saw the video of the Moroccan ball boys literally assaulting Senegal's second goalkeeper, Diouf, who, knowing what they were going to do, was standing the to the goal holding the towel in his hands, and since he wasn't giving them the towel they pushed him and put their hands on him. How is this even allowed?! I'm so glad Senegal win, this was pure karma. I really hope we'll never see something like this ever again.

It’s ironic that Morocco was given the Fair Play Award right after the world saw how they treat opposing players. They deserve to be punished by CAF, not given an award.

I didn't know about the Fair Play Award to Morocco but, at this point, I can't even say I'm surprised, they clearly wanted Morocco to win the competition.

But why did they want this? did they deserve it better because they were the host? or because they have shown better facilities than most African countries possess to be able to host this competition? They looked too entitled and showed to the world that they are bad losers.

Do you think this recent show from the Moroccans will affect their chances of hosting future major competitions? They have interest to host the AFCON in 2028.

https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2025/12/273178/morocco-reportedly-considers-bid-to-host-afcon-2028/

[KTChampions]

Morocco were trying to get an unfair advantage. They know the goalkeepers need the towels to dry their gloves so the ball doesn’t slip off their gloves. It’s shameful that Morocco had to stoop to using dirty tricks to win their games. 

I watched the video of the fight between Senegal's reserve goalkeeper and the ballboys and I was just shocked that this could even happen. I have no questions to these boys, the Moroccan team, etc. They simply disgraced themselves. But I have big questions for the African Football Federation and FIFA - where's the fucking reaction to this crap? This is damn cheating that should be punished with long-term disqualifications.
And from a safety standpoint, it's a threat to people's lives - imagine if that goalkeeper hadn't had phenomenal emotional control and started fighting with those boys? It could have led to a mass brawl and a crush in the stadium. In Europe, that stage is long gone, and I remember how Premier League clubs were banned from European competitions for five years for fan hooliganism, but here, the hosts behaved even worse.

[Antotena]

I believe it is an ey opening already for such not to happen again. That is true if what you said, it was assumed they are going to win the AFCON of nation no matter what or how it may happen, because to them it has already been designed like that for them to win it. To be honest it was very embarrassing when all this shit you made mention was Happening, I never expected the Moroccan to be acting like this. Well this is football and anything can happen.

African men and entitlement, where is it written that you will win a tournament just because you hosted it. How many countries has host games and won them. Even Ivory coast that won the last Afcon were very lucky even the fact they cheated to win the final games, they didn't allowed Nigerian fans to the stadium, chearing their players and were booing Nigerians, all that affected Nigerian players in the final but we didn't complain, we lost and went home. Unfortunately, Morocco wanted doing the same but Senegal were ahead of them.

I have watch some Afcon and they used to be a beautiful games but this tournament was one of the worst experience I saw. The team were horrible, the fans were bullying Senegal fans, they were even pushing Senegal fans out of the stadium which was bad. I have seen fans throw things at each other but the way Morocco fans were behaving doesn't look like they are even from Africa as a country, they need to banned for at least 30 years for hosting fifa tournament.