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Rabat – Senegalese football player Pape Gueye made headlines on sports news outlets after comments attributed to him in an interview with Sofoot.
The Senegalese player exposed Algerian fans’ hatred toward Moroccans during the chaotic AFCON final on January 18, when Senegal left the pitch to create controversy and backlash, withdrawing from the game after Morocco was awarded a legitimate penalty.
Pape Thiaw, Senegal’s coach, incited the players to leave the pitch, violating CAF tournament regulations.
“Algerians, seriously… It’s thanks to them that I have a million followers on Instagram,” the Senegalese player said.
He added that he received many messages after the game, in which Algerians thanked him for scoring a penalty goal during the added time after Morocco missed its own.
“‘We didn’t want Morocco to win!’ If I go to Algeria tomorrow, I think they’ll welcome me in a limousine,” he said.
Last month, CAF’s Appeal Board ruled that the Senegal national football team forfeited the AFCON final.
The decision awarded a 3-0 victory to the Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF).
Senegal pushed back against the ruling and sent a complaint to the international sports court, also known as CAS.
FRMF President, Fouzi Lekjaa, said Morocco is mobilized to defend its AFCON 2025 title before CAS.
“Morocco has strong and documented arguments regarding what happened in the final,” Lekjaa said in an interview with Al3omk.
“All elements of the incident were recorded precisely, through official reports and video footage, in full respect of the regulations,” he added.
Lekjaa emphasized that Morocco agreed to resume the game because refusing to continue “would have exposed us to the same sanctions under the regulations.”
