Senegal forward Iliman Ndiaye has opened up about the dramatic events that unfolded during the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final against Morocco, describing the chaotic moments that nearly derailed the Teranga Lions’ march to continental glory.
Senegal were crowned African champions for the second time in their history last month in Rabat after a tense and emotionally charged final.
The match took a dramatic turn late in the second half when Morocco were awarded a penalty following a VAR review, with El Hadji Malick Diouf ruled to have fouled Brahim Díaz inside the box.
The decision sparked furious protests from Senegal’s players, who temporarily walked off the pitch, bringing the final to a halt for 18 minutes.
Order was eventually restored, and when play resumed, Díaz saw his penalty brilliantly saved by goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, forcing the match into extra time after a goalless 90 minutes.
Senegal seized their moment in extra time as Pape Gueye produced a stunning strike to settle the contest and secure the trophy for the West African side.
Reflecting on the decisive penalty miss, Ndiaye told The Times the squad were convinced it would not go in.
“We were just telling each other he was going to miss,” the Everton attacker told The Times. “I was just like this [praying]. He’s like, ‘He’s going to miss, he’s going to miss.’”
“I was like, ‘Yeah, he’s going to miss, he’s going to miss.’ And then he missed. And then we had no reaction. We carried on. I think that’s because of the eight-second rule [for goalkeepers] and because of that, everyone actually just gets into position.”
Ndiaye suggested the manner of the penalty attempt left the Senegal camp puzzled.
“It just felt like a kind of disrespect, a little bit. I’m not saying maybe he wanted to disrespect us, but it’s either that or he wanted to be like a star after everything that had just happened.”
“I don’t know if I would try it or not. But you’re minutes away from becoming a king in your country. They hadn’t won it for so many years, and you just had to put it in and score the goal.”
The miss, Ndiaye believes, shifted the psychological balance of the final.
“So, I don’t get why he did that, but I’m happy he did. I think we just knew after that that we would win.”
The emotional toll of the incident was immense, especially with Ndiaye’s family among the spectators.
“We went crazy,” says Ndiaye, whose wife and children, sisters, cousins and friends were in the crowd. “We were thinking, ‘What’s going on?’ Our heads were completely gone. It’s a final, and you are minutes away from losing the game.”
He also defended the team’s decision to walk off the pitch, insisting it was a collective reaction.
“Obviously, we stick together as a team. When everyone says we do something, we do it.”
“We were just thinking: this can’t happen to us. After everything that we’ve been through, we just felt it wasn’t being fair.”
“And then after that, the others come back out. Sadio [Mané] said: ‘Come back out and play the game.’”
Order was eventually restored after captain Sadio Mané urged his teammates to return and finish the match. However, the fallout from the final has continued.
Ndiaye has since been handed a two-match ban for confronting referee Ndala, while CAF has sanctioned Senegal, Morocco and coach Pape Thiaw over the chaotic scenes.
Asked whether he would consider walking off the pitch again under similar circumstances, Ndiaye was cautious.
“I can’t tell you the future,” he explains, “but I think you’ve got to be treated fairly. That’s kind of what I’m going to say. Maybe we did the right thing, maybe we didn’t.”
“But after everything we did in that tournament, we just wanted to make sure it’s fair, and that’s why maybe we reacted like this. We don’t know the future,” he added.
