Senegal's coach Pape Thiaw has come to the defense of his team's infamous walk-off during the Africa Cup of Nations final against Morocco, saying it was a momentary emotional reaction to what he deemed "injustice". The drama unfolded in injury time when Morocco was awarded a penalty, sparking chaos on the field and leading Senegal's players to storm off.
Thiaw claimed that his team simply tried to protect their players from a perceived bias in the refereeing decision. However, FIFA President Gianni Infantino condemned the walk-off as "unacceptable" and the Moroccan Football Federation has since launched a formal investigation into the incident.
The drama led to a 15-minute stoppage in play but the fight continued long after the Senegal players had left the field. The controversy has raised questions about the integrity of African football, with the Senegalese Football Federation claiming that their opponents showed "unfair play" throughout the tournament.
Thiaw himself acknowledged that his team's actions may have been seen as a breach of the game's rules but argued that emotion was an integral part of the sport. He expressed regret if his words had offended anyone, saying that football lovers will understand the passion and intensity involved in such moments.
Despite the controversy surrounding their final walk-off, Senegal ultimately emerged victorious with a 1-0 win over Morocco, thanks to a late goal by Brahim Díaz's teammate, Pape Guaye. The result capped off an exceptional tournament for the Teranga Lions but will be remembered as one of the most dramatic and contentious moments in Africa Cup of Nations history.
Thiaw claimed that his team simply tried to protect their players from a perceived bias in the refereeing decision. However, FIFA President Gianni Infantino condemned the walk-off as "unacceptable" and the Moroccan Football Federation has since launched a formal investigation into the incident.
The drama led to a 15-minute stoppage in play but the fight continued long after the Senegal players had left the field. The controversy has raised questions about the integrity of African football, with the Senegalese Football Federation claiming that their opponents showed "unfair play" throughout the tournament.
Thiaw himself acknowledged that his team's actions may have been seen as a breach of the game's rules but argued that emotion was an integral part of the sport. He expressed regret if his words had offended anyone, saying that football lovers will understand the passion and intensity involved in such moments.
Despite the controversy surrounding their final walk-off, Senegal ultimately emerged victorious with a 1-0 win over Morocco, thanks to a late goal by Brahim Díaz's teammate, Pape Guaye. The result capped off an exceptional tournament for the Teranga Lions but will be remembered as one of the most dramatic and contentious moments in Africa Cup of Nations history.
The idea that they thought their team was being unfairly penalized is hard to believe, especially since FIFA is already breathing down their necks about the whole thing. And what's with all the post-game excuses from Senegal's coach? 
It's like he expects us to just forgive and forget... Newsflash: we're not buying it. 
The controversy surrounding this game is already making football in Africa look bad, and I'm not sure that one goal can make up for it. 
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they were literally being bullied by the ref all game and it's not cool that they got docked a point for walking off the field... i mean, pape thiaw said he was just trying to protect his players from the bias and honestly, who can blame him? 
i'm kinda surprised fifa president gianni infantino is being so harsh on them though... shouldn't they be supporting their teams in tough moments like that? 
anyway, congrats to senegal on their win tho! 
. And now the Moroccan Federation is investigating, which sounds like it's going to drag this out for ages.
. But I need some more info on all these claims before I start calling it a day...
like i get what senegal was trying to do but c'mon they just gave up on the game in injury time 
i feel for morocco, they were really upset with that penalty call 
but at the same time, i can see why senegal would be emotional about that decision 
anyway, i think pape thiaw's explanation is pretty valid 
that being said, the fissa reaction was still kinda harsh 
... I mean, who wouldn't be emotional in that situation? The ref making a call that could've gone either way, especially with all the controversy surrounding it 
. But at the same time, yeah, walkin' off like that was kinda unprofessional... I get why they thought the other team got some dodgy treatment though 
. I'm still tryna process what happened, FIFA needs to figure out how to handle situations like this better 
. and let's be real, morocco did look pretty sketchy in the tournament too lol. i don't blame pape thiaw for trying to protect his team - safety first, right? 
. and what's with FIFA being so quick to condemn the walk-off? seems like they're just trying to sweep this under the rug. i'm still wondering, was it really just "momentary emotional reaction" or was there more to it than that? 
. I've gotta give Pape Thiaw some props for standing up for his team, even if he's got some 'splainin' to do about how they handled the situation 
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. But on the other hand, you can't just walk off mid-game without thinking about how that affects everyone else involved... I mean, even if you're not the one getting the penalty 
pape thiaw is literally trying to justify it tho 
especially since morocco won the tournament fair and square 
hopefully senegal gets to learn from this and move forward 
. all this drama, and it just comes down to "injustice" and "emotional reaction"... papa Thiaw better watch out for some shade from his fans 
. and tbh, 15-minute stoppage in play wasn't exactly a huge loss for Senegal 
... they still won the thing 
! guess we'll just have to wait & see how FIFA's investigation shakes out 
. If Senegal can pull off a win despite such controversy, does that mean they've sent a strong message to FIFA and other governing bodies? Should we be praising their passion or condemning it as unacceptable? It's all so complicated, but one thing's for sure – this walk-off has got everyone talking 
. It's not like Pape Thiaw was wrong to feel that way - we all know how intense football matches can get 
. As much as you want to protect your teammates and teammates' rights, sometimes taking a step back (literally) is the best way to go 
. But for Senegal, at least they got their W