Senegal beats Morocco to claim another AFCON title after controversy, giant fan brawl in extra time

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Senegal won the Africa Cup of Nations trophy for the second time on Sunday afternoon, though only after a truly chaotic scene broke out during the final match in Rabat.

Senegal topped Morocco 1-0 on a stoppage time goal from Pape Gueye on Sunday, which gave them the AFCON title. But the match was completely overshadowed by controversy and a violent outburst from a section of Senegal supporters at the Prince Moulay Abdellah stadium in Morocco's capital. 

Late at the end of stoppage time in the second half, Morocco was given a penalty after Senegal's El Hadi Malik Diouf fouled Brahim Diaz in the penalty area — something that was determined after a VAR check. That came just minutes after what would have been a winning goal was called off on the other end, too, something that couldn't have been reversed with VAR. 

That led to both benches breaking out into a fight on the sidelines. Eventually, Senegal manager Pape Thiaw actually called his team off the field and into the locker room out of protest.

While the players were off the field, a huge fight broke out in the Senegal supporters’ section. Several supporters were seen fighting with stadium security, throwing chairs and more behind the goal.

Once things on the pitch had gotten under control again, Senegal came back out from the locker room to continue the game. Diaz went to attempt his penalty kick that he was awarded nearly 20 minutes earlier, but he missed. That sent the game into extra time.

Finally, it was Gueye who hit the game winner and sealed the victory for Senegal.

“We saw what happened at the end of the game but we decided to come back to the pitch and give our all. We were able to score and win the game," Gueye said, via The Athletic.

“We had felt some injustice because before that, there was a fault for us but the referee did not see it. As humans, we felt frustrated. Sadio told us to come back [on the pitch], we found the strength to come back and Mendy saved the penalty.”

Senegal has now won the AFCON title for the second time in the last three outings. They beat Egypt in 2021, which came two years after they fell to Algeria in the championship match in 2019.