Senegal leaving the field to protest referee decisions before winning the Africa Cup of Nations title amid shocking chaos was “unacceptable,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said on Monday.
Infantino criticized the Senegal coaches, players and some fans for their behavior at the end of regulation time against host nation Morocco that was astonishing for the final of an international competition.
“The ugly scenes witnessed [Sunday] must be condemned and never repeated,” the FIFA leader posted on his Instagram account after attending the game in Rabat.
“I expect that the relevant disciplinary bodies at CAF [the Confederation of African Football] will take the appropriate measures,” Infantino wrote.
CAF also described the incidents as unacceptable in a later statement, and said it is “reviewing all footage and will refer the matter to competent bodies for appropriate action to be taken against those found guilty.”
Senegal coach Pape Thiaw faces severe sanctions for his part leading this players back to the locker room when Morocco was awarded a stoppage-time penalty, forcing the game to stop for almost 15 minutes.
The Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) on Monday said it will initiate file complaints before FIFA and CAF (Africa football confederation).
The federation said on its website that the withdrawal was “accompanied by incidents” after a penalty was awarded to Morocco and “disrupted the normal course of the match and the performance of the players.”
It is unclear if any ban imposed on Thiaw would apply just in future African competitions or at FIFA’s World Cup in North America. Senegal starts its World Cup playing France on June 16 at MetLife Stadium near New York, where it also plays Norway six days later.
Senegal’s team and fans were angered by being denied what shaped as a title-winning goal early in stoppage time of a 0-0 draw when the referee called a foul to rule out the goal.
Minutes later, Morocco was awarded a penalty after a video review which judged star forward Brahim DÃaz had been pulled to the ground by a Senegal defender when a corner was taken.
The controversial decision further fueled a feeling by Morocco’s opponents that the team was getting favorable decisions at a tournament which has been a showcase for co-hosting the 2030 World Cup for FIFA.
Thiaw encouraged his players to leave the field and so prevent DÃaz taking the penalty kick that could decide the title. Senegal fans clashed with police at the other end of the stadium.
“It is unacceptable to leave the field of play in this manner, and equally, violence cannot be tolerated in our sport. It is simply not right,” Infantino wrote.
“We must always respect the decisions taken by the match officials on and off the field of play,” the FIFA president added. “Teams must compete on the pitch and within the Laws of the Game, because anything less puts the very essence of football at risk.”
Morocco coach Walid Regragui later called the incidents a “shameful” image of African soccer for the rest of the world to see.
When the players returned, and in the remarkable 24th minute of stoppage time, DÃaz took one of the worst penalties in soccer history.
The Real Madrid forward’s slow chip shot — known as a Panenka, after the Czech player who did it 50 years ago to win the European title against West Germany — was weak, low and easily saved by Senegal goalkeeper Édouard Mendy.
The game went into extra time and Senegal won it four minutes in with a powerful shot by Pape Gueye.
“My best wishes as well to Abdoulaye Fall, president of the Senegalese Football Association, and to everyone involved in this success,” Infantino wrote.
“It is also the responsibility of teams and players,” he said, “to act responsibly and set the right example for fans in the stadiums and millions watching around the world.”
During the suspension of the match, outraged Senegal supporters jumped over barricades and landed in photographers’ positions behind one of the goals, where they threw chairs onto the field and battled with stewards before police arrived to try and restore order.
The federation said it would “resort to legal procedures with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA)” asking them to “rule on the withdrawal of the Senegalese national team from the field during the final against the Moroccan national team, as well as on the events that accompanied this decision, following the referee’s announcement of a penalty deemed correct by all the experts.”
Also on Monday, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) condemned in a statement the “unacceptable behavior” of some players and officials during the AFCON final.
The statement did not explicitly name the Senegal delegation but said that CAF “firmly” rejected any inappropriate conduct, especially that directed against the refereeing team or the organizers.
After the match, Morocco coach Regragui was critical of Thiaw’s decision to pull his team from the field and defended DÃaz on his missed penalty.
“I think a lot of time passed before [Brahim] was able to take the penalty, and this put him off,” Regragui said. “The match we had was shameful for Africa.”
DÃaz issued a statement on Monday about the missed penalty, saying: “My soul hurts. I dreamed of this title thanks to all the love you all gave me, every message, every show of support that made me feel I wasn’t alone. I fought with everything I had, with my heart above all else.
“Yesterday I failed and I take full responsibility. I apologize from the bottom of my heart.
“It will be hard for me to recover, because this wound doesn’t heal easily… but I will try. Not for myself, but for everyone who believed in me and for everyone who suffered with me.
“I will keep going forward until one day I can give you all this love back and become a source of pride for my Moroccan people.”
Information from Efe and AP was used in this report.
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