The Africa Cup of Nations final between Senegal and Morocco was marred by controversial scenes, with footage emerging of wild ball boy antics. Morocco coach Walid Regragui described the scenes as "shameful", and his side seemingly did everything they could to gain an advantage. The ball boys and flag bearers were constantly trying to steal Senegal goalkeeper Édouard Mendy's towel, even going as far as to tackle reserve goalkeeper Yehvann Diouf, who was trying to protect the towel. Diouf didn't play a single minute in the final but had an important role as he was repeatedly under pressure to fight for the towel, which Mendy needed to dry his gloves in wet conditions. Video footage on social media also showed Diouf running away from the ball boys at one point, while Morocco captain Acharf Hakimi was even spotted throwing one of Senegal's towels over the advertising board. While the reaction on social media to Morocco's antics was far from favourable, Diouf saw the humour in it as he posted on Instagram: "There she is - the medal and the towel". The Moroccan Football Federation, however, did not consider Monday's events a laughing matter, referring the incidents to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and FIFA. Senegal's protest in added time of normal play during Monday's clash in Rabat led to the match being paused for nearly 20 minutes as the players walked off the pitch in anger. Some Senegalese fans at the opposite end of the stadium threw chairs and other objects and attempted to get onto the field of play. The AFCON hosts' football federation said these acts "had a significant impact on the normal course of the match and on the players' performance", with Morocco then missing the penalty that could have granted them their first African title in 50 years. The federation said "it will resort to legal procedures" with CAF and FIFA "in order to rule on the withdrawal of the Senegalese national team from the field"... "as well as on the events that accompanied this decision". It said the referee's decision to grant the Atlas Lions a penalty was "deemed correct by unanimous opinion of specialists". FIFA president Gianni Infantino condemned "some Senegal players" for the "unacceptable scenes". Senegal scored the game's only goal just four minutes into extra time after the players returned to the pitch following an appeal from star forward Sadio Mane. Several Moroccan media outlets on Monday criticised Senegal for a lack of fair play and unsporting behaviour.
