AFCON final ends in CHAOS as Senegal players walk off pitch in protest after controversial late Morocco penalty decision

The Africa Cup of Nations final ended in chaos and controversy after Senegal players walked off the pitch in protest following a late penalty was awarded for Morocco.

Protests broke out when a spotkick was awarded in the eighth minute of stoppage time for a foul by , leading to Senegal’s manager Pape Thiaw ordering his players off the pitch and into the dressing room.

Senegal had themselves seen a late winner disallowed in added time for a foul in the build-up, which only added to the frustration and ugly scenes in Rabat.

Thiaw, 44, was visibly frustrated with referee Jean Jacques Ndala, who awarded a penalty after reviewing the incident on the VAR monitor, having earlier disallowed a goal for his side.

Crystal Palace forward Ismaila Sarr had bundled the ball home from close range, but the effort was ruled out following a foul by Everton midfielder Idrissa Gueye on Achraf Hakimi.

Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy initially walked down the tunnel, but later returned to the pitch as Sadio Mane urged his teammates to see out the match.

The game did not continue until the 112th minute of play, with Diaz, the man fouled which led to the penalty, stepping up before missing the chance to win the game by firing straight at Edouard Mendy in the most unbelievable of circumstances continued.

Moments after coming back on, Mendy produced a fine save to deny Diaz’s attempted panenka penalty.

Ndala brought the match to a close shortly afterwards, before Senegal broke the deadlock four minutes into extra time through Pape Gueye to secure an extraordinary win for the Lions of Teranga.