Eliman Ndiaye: Diaz Disrespected Us with His 'Panenka' Penalty in the Africa Cup Final

In controversial statements, Eliman Ndiaye, a player for the Senegal national team, revealed his feelings of "disrespect" towards Ibrahim Diaz, a player from Morocco, after the latter executed a penalty kick in a "Panenka" style during the Africa Cup of Nations final last month.

Ndiaye confirmed in an interview with the British newspaper "The Times" that the team was confident of victory after that moment, saying:

"We were telling each other that he would miss, and I was praying to God that he would miss... and then he actually did. We didn't react at all, and we continued to play."

A state of chaos erupted at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium after a late penalty was awarded to Morocco, prompting the Senegal players to temporarily withdraw from the field.

However, the team quickly returned to continue the match, with Bamba Dieng scoring the winning goal in the first extra time, gifting Senegal the title.

Regarding Diaz's penalty, Ndiaye added:

"I felt a kind of disrespect; I’m not saying he wanted to belittle us, but maybe he wanted to become a star after everything that happened. I don’t understand why he did it, but it worked in our favor, and we knew after that that we would win."

Ndiaye also revealed the moment of withdrawal, saying:

"We went crazy; we were completely distracted. It’s a final, and we were minutes away from losing. We felt it was unfair, and then Sadio Mane said: 'Come back and play the match.'"

On the possibility of a similar reaction in the future, Ndiaye said:

"I can’t predict the future, but one should be treated fairly. Maybe we acted correctly, and maybe not, but we wanted to ensure that things were fair after everything we did in the tournament."

The final between Morocco and Senegal also saw scuffles between players and sparked widespread controversy in sports circles, while the Confederation of African Football (CAF) rejected Morocco's request to strip Senegal of the title, imposing fines exceeding one million dollars.