Senegal could face a CAF (Confederation of African Football) punishment following their controversial victory over Morocco in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final.
The West African side secured their second AFCON crown in three tournaments on Sunday (January 18) with a dramatic extra-time victory over hosts Morocco in Rabat.
A relatively cagey affair was shrouded in chaos in the final moments as referee Jean Jacques Ndala awarded a 98th-minute spot kick after a video assistant referee (VAR) advised him to go to the pitchside screen before he judged El Hadji Malick Diouf to have fouled Brahim Diaz in the penalty area.
Senegal head coach Pape Thiaw then took his players off the field of play to the bemusement of the Moroccan side, who were made to wait for around 17 minutes before Sadio Mane and Co returned to the pitch for the penalty to be taken.
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Real Madrid forward Diaz stepped forward, kissing the ball before putting it on the spot while Moroccan fans around the world watched on in anticipation.
But the former Man City youngster, who had previously scored five goals in the tournament, decided to try a ‘Panenka’ which Edouard Mendy easily caught before the referee called time.
In the fourth minute of extra time, Villarreal’s Pape Gueye scored a stunning left-footed strike to hand the away side a historic victory and their second AFCON triumph.
But will they be punished for leaving the pitch during the match?
After the match, Morocco boss Walid Regragui branded Senegal’s actions as “shameful”, while FIFA president Gianni Infantino described the scenes as “unacceptable”.
"The image we gave of African football was rather shameful," Regragui said. "Having to stop the game for more than 10 minutes with the world watching is not very classy.”
It remains unclear what CAF’s stance is, but according to their regulations, “If, for any reason whatsoever, a team withdraws from the competition or does not report for a match, except in cases of force majeure accepted by the Organising Commissioner refuses to play or leaves the ground before the regular end of the match without the authorisation of the referee, it shall be considered a loser and shall be eliminated for good from the current competition”.
AFCON rules also state that the team will lose the match by 3-0 before the organising committee can take further measures if they see fit.
There is no precedent for CAF to follow, as a team has never left the pitch in protest during a match previously.
Luke Davies