Crowd surge and hotel row as Senegal prepare for AFCON final with Morocco | OneFootball

According to L'Équipe, Senegal coach Pape Thiaw condemned the team’s arrival and reception before Sunday’s AFCON final with Morocco, saying players were exposed to danger. He spoke on Saturday as tensions rose around the showpiece.

The squad returned by train from Tangier on Friday night after posting their arrival time on social media. With security inadequate, a major organisational error, fans and bystanders pressed for selfies with stars such as Sadio Mané, sparking a small crowd surge.

Senegal’s federation then criticised a city-centre hotel it said was ill suited to elite athletes, and the training set-up, even referencing ticketing in a sweeping statement. It announced a Saturday early afternoon press conference at a new, heavily secured base about 20 minutes from Rabat, before a later statement flipped tone and thanked, among others, the Moroccan federation president.

The flare-up caused a stir around the tournament. After earlier refereeing controversies, the image of the closing stages risked being clouded again.

The Lions of Teranga have changed their training venue, initially set for the Moroccan national centre where Walid Regragui’s team are based. It has been unusual all tournament to see Morocco’s opponents working almost under their window.

Now comes the meeting of Morocco, who dazzled the world at Qatar 2022 with a semi-final, and Senegal, the continent’s heavyweight since 2019. Senegal have reached three finals out of four and qualified for three World Cups in a row, and hopes are high the officiating matches the occasion.

Source: L'Équipe