🎥 Dirty play steals the show in the most surreal Africa Cup final | OneFootball

The Africa Cup final not only crowned Senegal as champions, but also exposed a series of unsportsmanlike behaviors by the Moroccan delegation that have made headlines around the world.

Throughout the 90 minutes, the atmosphere was tense and full of dirty tricks, especially aimed at destabilizing Senegalese goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.

The most surreal episode involved the local ball boys, who repeatedly tried to steal Mendy’s towel to prevent him from drying his gloves, forcing backup goalkeeper Yehvan Diouf to guard the item and even take part in a chase across the pitch.

The intimidation didn’t stop there. Ismail Saibari, Morocco’s number 11, confronted Diouf directly to prevent him from handing the towel to his teammate, in a clear display of what many have described as excessive "gamesmanship".

These actions, far from being isolated incidents, set the tone for a match where sportsmanship was nowhere to be found, leaving a stain that will be hard to erase from the image of Moroccan football in the eyes of the continent.

The press room, a battlefield

After the final whistle, the shame moved to the official areas of the stadium. The press conference of Senegal’s coach, Pape Thiaw, descended into chaos when Moroccan journalists began to boo and insult him.

The coach, who was accompanied by his daughter, was unable to finish his statements due to the media harassment and the physical altercations that broke out between journalists from both countries in the press room.

Embarrassment at the trophy ceremony

The official protocol was not spared from controversy during the trophy presentation. Prince Moulay Rachid, brother of King Mohamed VI, created an unprecedented scene by refusing to hand the championship trophy to the Senegalese players.

The discomfort of Patrice Motsepe, president of the African Football Confederation (CAF), was evident in the face of a gesture that broke with all the diplomatic and sporting etiquette expected at a final of this magnitude.

Morocco’s prize? The Fair Play award

To top off a night to forget, the organization awarded Morocco the ‘Fair Play’ prize, a decision that has been described as surreal given the seriousness of the events that took place.

Absolute surrealism.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.

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