Senegal's reserve goalkeeper Yehvann Diouf took to social media to poke fun at his team's chaotic Afcon final victory after he played a crucial role in defending teammate Edourd Mendy's towel from the Moroccan ball boys.
Mendy, who was regularly required to dry his gloves during the torrential conditions, found himself on the receiving end of repeated attempts by Morocco to discard his towel. Diouf, however, came to his side's rescue, protecting him from the ball boys and flag bearers throughout the 120 minutes. The Senegalese reserve even got into a physical altercation with three Moroccan ball boys at one point.
The incident sparked intense debate on social media, with FIFA president Gianni Infantino condemning the "ugly scenes" in a post on Instagram.
Despite the drama, Senegal emerged victorious after Pape Gueye scored the winning goal in extra time, securing their second continental title in five years. The triumph was marred by controversy over the awarding of Morocco's penalty, which many believed was influenced by the prolonged delay that occurred during the match.
Mendy, who was regularly required to dry his gloves during the torrential conditions, found himself on the receiving end of repeated attempts by Morocco to discard his towel. Diouf, however, came to his side's rescue, protecting him from the ball boys and flag bearers throughout the 120 minutes. The Senegalese reserve even got into a physical altercation with three Moroccan ball boys at one point.
The incident sparked intense debate on social media, with FIFA president Gianni Infantino condemning the "ugly scenes" in a post on Instagram.
Despite the drama, Senegal emerged victorious after Pape Gueye scored the winning goal in extra time, securing their second continental title in five years. The triumph was marred by controversy over the awarding of Morocco's penalty, which many believed was influenced by the prolonged delay that occurred during the match.
. but seriously, those Moroccan ball boys must be having the worst day ever 
. and poor Edourd Mendy just trying to dry his gloves amidst all the chaos 
. Yehvann Diouf is a hero for saving his bacon (and his teammate's towel) 
! and congrats to Senegal on their Afcon win, I guess you could say they finally 'dried' up all their competition 
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diouf the backup goalie literally saved edourd mendy from gettin his towel stolen lol i feel like dat boy wouldve gotten a medal 4 dat alone 
but for real tho, da drama wit da ball boys was wild 
I love how Yehvann Diouf is embracing his hero status after saving Edourd Mendy's towel game 
! I mean, who needs a golden goal when you can protect your teammate's towel from being yanked away? 
I'm surprised no one got sent off on the spot! Anyway, Senegal's win is all that matters 
and I'm hyped they get to enjoy their Afcon glory for a while 
. And now everyone's talking about it online and Gianni Infantino is giving out his two cents on Instagram 
. It's crazy how much drama goes into a football match sometimes... but at the end of the day, Senegal took home the win and that's all that matters 
I mean, can you even imagine having to deal with that in the middle of a game? And yeah FIFA needs to get their act together on the penalty award 
. Pape Gueye is the real MVP tho for scoring that winning goal in extra time 
. And honestly, who's surprised by all the fuss over a towel? It's not like it was a major issue... I mean, I've seen ppl get more worked up over lost socks 
.
. I think someone needs to be held accountable for keeping those kids in line 
or maybe just get a free meal at the stadium 
either way, Senegal's champions but Morocco's still trying to towel-rustle their way back to the top 
? But seriously though how many times do ball boys get to just throw towels at ppl's feet and then act surprised when they fight back 
. I'm still trying to figger out why that penalty was awarded 
still congrats to senegal on their afcon win 
what's up with that? seems like he took it way too far. Anyway, congrats to Senegal on winning Afcon, but can we please just have one penalty shootout without any controversy for once?