Senegal’s forward Sadio Mane holds up the trophy as he celebrates with his teammates after winning the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) final football match between Senegal and Morocco at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat on January 18, 2026. Picture: Sebastien Bozon/AFP FormerOrlando PiratesandBidvest WitsplayerMichael Morton, like many fans, was shocked by the events of theAfrica Cup of Nations(Afcon) final over the weekend. Senegal beat Morocco 1-0 in extra time to claim the title, but not before the match had becomeshrouded in controversy.
There were hotly debated VAR calls,dirty tacticsfrom the Morocco players before and during the match, which led to Senegal briefly walking off in protest before they returned to finish the match. One shudders to think what the fallout would have been had Senegal not returned to the field. “That was almost catastrophic for African football.
After a really good final, we almost had a walk-off. We almost had Senegal walking off in the Afcon final,” said Morton, who is proving to be an excellent pundit, on his YouTube page. As Morton reveals in the lead-up to the trophy match, Senegal declined to train at a Moroccan training facility as the visitors sought a private venue where their tactics would not be watched.
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“When Senegal arrived as well, there was no security. So their players were having to push themselves through crowds. The preparation for Senegal and the buildup was already building a lot of frustration for them.
You could feel it was a ticketing situation. There were a lot of things going on, building up to this final.” After the final, a number of videos emerged showing the dirty tactics of the Moroccans. Moroccan player Ismael Saibari was filmed near the Senegal goal attempting to steal his opposition keeperÉdouard Mendy’s towel, which he would need to dry the ball.
In the video, we see a Senegal player keeping hold of the towel, which is normally just left next to the goalposts for the keepers to grab easily whenever they need it. The scene became farcical as Mendy came running towards the goal line, and Saibari appeared to be marking the Senegal player off the field of play in an attempt to get the towel to the keeper.
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