Morocco manager Walid Regragui believes Real Madrid star Brahim Diaz was ‘disturbed’ before his shocking penalty miss in the Africa Cup of Nations final defeat to Senegal.
Diaz was handed a golden chance to seal Morocco’s first continental title in 50 years when the AFCON hosts were awarded a last-minute penalty with the score goalless.
But the penalty kick was delayed by 17 minutes as Senegal boss Pape Thiaw ordered his team off the pitch in protest against the controversial VAR decision.
In bizarre scenes, the Senegal players returned to their dressing room, while fans in the stands clashed with security while attempting to break on to the pitch.
Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy delayed Diaz’s spot-kick further when the players finally returned to the pitch under pressure from Liverpool legend Sadio Mane.
Diaz kissed the ball before placing it on the penalty spot but his Panenka-style chip lacked conviction and was comfortably saved by Mendy, who hardly had to move.
A wild and unsavoury Africa Cup of Nations final went to extra-time and it was there that Pape Gueye scored a superb winner to hand Senegal their second AFCON title.
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The Morocco players were devastated after the match and Diaz was seen in tears as Senegal lifted the trophy.
The 26-year-old’s tame penalty even led to suggestions online that he had deliberately missed in response to Senegal’s fury over the decision.
But Morocco manager Regragui said: ‘He had a lot of time before taking the penalty which must have disturbed him.
‘But we can’t change what happened. That is how he chose to take the penalty. We need to look forwards now.’
Mendy was asked about his interaction he had with Diaz before the penalty miss and said: ‘What did we say to each other? That’s between us.
‘We did it together and we came back together, that’s all that matters. We can be proud tonight.’
Asked if he believed Diaz missed on purpose, Mendy added: ‘No, of course not. We have to be serious.
‘Do you really think that with one minute left and a country that has been waiting 50 years for a title, we can reach an agreement? He wanted to score and I deserve credit for stopping him, that’s all.’
Diaz was the top goalscorer at the Africa Cup of Nations and as a result was forced to pose for a picture with player of the tournament Mane and goalkeeper of the tournament Yassine Bounou after the heartbreaking defeat.
Nigeria hero John Obi Mikel believes the penalty miss ‘spoils everything’ Diaz did in the tournament and said the Real Madrid forward will be ‘devastated for months’.
‘To do that it spoils everything Brahim Diaz has done well in this tournament,’ Mikel said on Channel 4.
‘He is going to be devastated. This is going to be tough on him, for weeks, for months.’
Former Morocco international Hassan Kachloul added: ‘I think Brahim Diaz is going to have a lot of nightmares in the coming days, but that is part of football life.
‘Diaz must have changed his mind a few times before kicking that ball. Unfortunately for Morocco, they paid the price.’
Meanwhile, Mane – who won the Premier League and Champions League at Liverpool – received praise for urging his Senegal teammates to return to the pitch after their bizarre walk-off protest.
‘Sadio Mane went the extra mile to get his team back and it has paid off,’ Daniel Amokachi, the former Nigeria forward, said on BBC World Service.
‘What an ambassador for football he is. We know the kind of person he is off the pitch and he knows what football is all about.
‘Morocco have to blame themselves, they had many opportunities to become champions.’
Kachloul added: ‘What I like more than anything the only player from the Senegalese team was Sadio Mane.
‘That shows the great man he is. He went back to the dressing room and brought those players back.
‘Africa football was losing and world football was losing. Sadio Mane was the man to bring them back on.’
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