Image source: bbc.com
Senegal reserve goalkeeper Yehvann Diouf has joked about his unexpected role in Sunday’s chaotic Afcon final victory, after spending the match guarding a towel used by team-mate Edouard Mendy in torrential conditions. Diouf did not play in Rabat but became involved in repeated scuffles on the touchline as Morocco tried to remove the towel. Fifa president Gianni Infantino later condemned “ugly scenes.”
Senegal reserve keeper Diouf laughs off Afcon final towel scuffles
Diouf, 26, was an unused substitute as Senegal beat Morocco in an extraordinary final at Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, but still found himself at the centre of the match’s most unusual subplot. With torrential rain forcing former Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy to dry his gloves regularly, Diouf was tasked with protecting the towel being used on the sideline during the 120 minutes.
The job became increasingly difficult as Morocco repeatedly tried to discard the 33-year-old Mendy’s towel, a tactic they were also seen to use in their semi-final win against Nigeria. Diouf was shown in footage fending off ball boys and flag bearers, and at one point he was tackled to the ground by three ball boys and dragged along the floor. Another clip showed him running away from them as the game continued.
Diouf later poked fun at the extreme measures on Instagram, sharing a photo of his winners’ medal alongside the now-prominent towel. “There it is – the medal and the towel,” he wrote in the post. Later footage from the match also appeared to show Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi tossing one of Senegal’s towels over an advertising board as tensions stayed high.
On the pitch, Pape Gueye scored the decisive goal with a stunning individual effort in the fourth minute of extra-time to secure Senegal’s second continental triumph in five years. The winning moment arrived after a long delay in extra-time, following a period when Senegal temporarily refused to play after their head coach, Pape Thiaw, reacted to a disallowed goal and a late penalty being awarded to Morocco.
Real Madrid forward Brahim Diaz, the tournament’s top scorer with five goals, missed that 98th-minute penalty with an unusual Panenka attempt after a 17-minute stoppage. Former Liverpool forward Sadio Mane stayed on the pitch during Senegal’s protests and eventually persuaded his team-mates to return. After the final, Infantino criticised the “ugly scenes” in an Instagram post.
