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Rabat – beIN Sports journalist Vanessa Le Moigne has announced that she will step away from football coverage at the end of the season, following intense backlash on social media after the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final between Senegal and Morocco.
In a series of Instagram stories published during the night of January 21 to 22, Le Moigne said she felt “liberated” after making what she described as a radical decision, bringing an end to six years covering football for beIN Sports.
While confirming she will complete the current season, she made clear that her future will no longer be in football journalism.
Her announcement comes in the wake of intense backlash linked to a post-match interview conducted after the AFCON final, a match overshadowed by chaotic scenes and heightened emotions.
During her exchange with Senegal goalkeeper Édouard Mendy, Le Moigne described the end of the game as “dramatic,” a remark that some viewers interpreted as casting doubt on the legitimacy of Senegal’s victory.
The wave of private threats, insults, and hate messages aimed at the journalist originated from the questions she asked Mendy following the chaos during the final. She asked the Senegalese goalkeeper, “I hesitate to say congratulations. I’ll let you comment on everything that happened at the end-it’s dramatic.”
The question referenced the turmoil in the stadium after the controversial penalty awarded to Morocco’s Brahim Diaz at the end of regulation time.
She also inquired about a potential arrangement between the two teams, suggesting that the Moroccan player might intentionally miss his shot to prevent further chaos in the Rabat stadium. These questions were not well received by Mendy or by certain supporters, sparking a heated backlash online.
Le Moigne later rejected those interpretations, publishing the full exchange and clarifying the context in which the question was asked.
She explained that at the time of the interview, she had seen two young people leave the stadium on stretchers and did not know whether they were alive.
“I was not talking about football,” she said, adding that widespread speculation circulating on social media made it necessary, from a journalistic standpoint, to raise the question so that a response from one of the key actors could be placed on record.
Despite these explanations, the controversy escalated across social media platforms.
An onslaught of criticism
Le Moigne became the target of a wave of hostile and abusive messages, which she says played a decisive role in her choice to distance herself from the football world.
Following the interview, Le Moigne faced an intense wave of criticism on social media, with a large share of hostile reactions coming from accounts identifying as Senegalese supporters.
Her questions, which were framed in the emotionally charged aftermath of the final, were widely taken out of context and interpreted by some users as an attempt to cast doubt on Senegal’s victory.
This reading fueled a surge of accusatory, insulting, and aggressive comments directed at the journalist, turning a professional exchange into a personal target.
In her posts, she also expressed disappointment over what she described as a lack of support from within the profession, noting that criticism from peers was particularly difficult to accept.
The journalist also referred to personal circumstances, recalling the recent loss of her father and explaining that the accumulation of grief and public pressure contributed to her decision. She stressed that she will fulfill her professional obligations until the end of the season, including upcoming Ligue 2 coverage, before pursuing other professional paths.
Contacted by L’Équipe, beIN Sports said it does not comment on individual statements made by its journalists on social media, while reaffirming that it “strongly condemns all forms of attacks targeting its collaborators.”
The case has revived broader debate around online harassment in sports journalism, especially in emotionally charged contexts where journalists face digital backlash for exercising editorial judgment.
