Africa Cup of Nations 2026 Final: The image of the 'Beautiful Game' takes a beating

The off-field drama in the final at Morocco's Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium robbed the sheen of a tournament which was meant to underline continental supremacy.

The Africa Cup of Nations 2026 final held at Morocco in Rabat was marred by poor refereeing and bad player behaviour which literally brought disrepute to the Beautiful Game.

For the records, Senegal beat Morocco 1-0 in extra time in the final held at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium on January 18.

But the most lingering image of the final is that of Senegal players leaving the pitch after Morocco were awarded a penalty at the very end of the second half.

That came shortly after referee Jean-Jacques Ndala had disallowed a goal for Senegal.

The Senegalese reaction was a sign of the prevailing mistrust shown to match officials over the three weeks of the competition which was marred by allegations of biased refereeing.

"From the start it was unhealthy," said Morocco coach Walid Regragui referring to the oppressive atmosphere that accompanied each of his team's games.

Beyond the pressure exerted by Moroccan supporters during their team's matches and the limited number of seats allocated to their opponents, the sources of tension between players and referees were legion.

Morocco's 2-0 win against Cameroon in the quarterfinals sparked the anger of the Cameroonians, who blamed the referee for overlooking a penalty after a foul on forward Bryan Mbeumo.

Morocco's semifinal win against Nigeria was also tinged with bad refereeing decisions.

And in the final, Congolese referee Jean-Jacques Ndala was in the spotlight for all wrong reasons.

When Senegal defender El Hadji Malick Diouf grabbed Brahim Diaz round the neck and pulled him over at a corner, Ndala awarded a penalty.

Ndala was surrounded by players and staff from both teams and the hostile atmosphere was punctuated by the whistles of Moroccan spectators as he headed to consult the VAR screen.

His decision sparked the fury of the Senegal players, some of whom left the pitch in protest, delaying play for around 20 minutes.

As players argued and officials scrambled, Senegal skipper Sadio Mane was seen urging them to return to the pitch and continue the game. After several minutes of negotiation, they did.

When the players returned, and in the remarkable 24th minute of stoppage time, Diaz's penalty was saved by Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino condemned "the behaviour of some 'supporters' as well as some Senegalese players and technical staff members," and called on the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to take "appropriate measures".

"The ugly scenes witnessed must be condemned and never repeated," the FIFA leader posted on his Instagram account after attending the game in Rabat.

CAF also described the incidents as unacceptable in a later statement, and said it is "reviewing all footage and will refer the matter to competent bodies for appropriate action to be taken against those found guilty."

The Moroccan Football Federation has formally referred to the CAF and FIFA about Senegalese players' for a lack of fair play and unsporting behaviour.

As the blame game continues, there is no denying the fact that off-field drama in the final robbed the sheen of a tournament which was meant to underline continental supremacy.

(With inputs from agencies)