Stunning images. A few hours after Senegal’s victory and coronation in the final of the 2025 African Cup of Nations against Morocco (1-0 ap), countless videos from spectators or journalists present at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium emerged on social networks, testifying to the scenes of chaos that occurred in the stands during the final.
But at the edge of the pitch, tension was also present, in particular concerning… the towel of Édouard Mendy, the Senegalese goalkeeper. As in the semi-final against Nigeria, the latter became the center of attention of the stewards, ball boys and Moroccan substitutes. Stanley Nwabali, the last defense of the Super Eagles, notably complained that his towel disappeared at regular intervals during the game.
Diouf dragged onto the ground and pursued
No doubt eager to prevent Mendy from wiping his gloves in the rainy conditions of Rabat on Sunday evening, the ball boys positioned behind the Senegalese cage did not fail to do it again during the final. Placed behind the goal, Yehvann Diouf, the replacement goalkeeper for the Lions of Teranga, was therefore responsible for protecting his partner’s briefcase… and the least we can say is that the mission was not easy!
In a completely implausible manner, a group of collectors tried to tear the fabric from the hands of the OGC Nice player, forced to throw himself on the ground to keep it before being dragged onto the field by the young volunteers, while the game continued its course and an action took place in the Senegalese area.
Supported by a man in a suit, obviously in charge of security, the volunteers then pursued Diouf towards the Lions bench, without managing to recover the towel.
During extra time, the fight for the piece of cloth did not weaken in intensity, since Ismael Saibari, the Moroccan midfielder replaced in the 90th minute of the final, was filmed staring at Diouf before trying to intercept the towel, forcing goalkeeper No. 2 to bring it by hand to Mendy when the latter wanted to dry himself.
“Maybe there is a bit of folklore around”
With a lot of second degree, the Nice resident returned to this surprising episode via an Instagram story published in the evening from Sunday to Monday. “It’s there (the medal and the towel), he laughed.
“Towels?” I was surprised when I saw that they tried to take them,” he explained in the mixed zone to the Senegalese media. “It was just towels to dry the gloves, the face, nothing more. Maybe there’s a bit of folklore around it, but it’s something banal in my opinion. »
“Against Nigeria, we saw that the stewards were already trying to recover them. I don’t know why they did it, it wasn’t fair play on their part. I tried to make sure that Édouard was as focused as possible, we needed him to be 100% focused on the pitch. » Mission accomplished, since the Senegal goalkeeper stopped Brahim Diaz’s penalty in the last minute of regulation time, before the Lions of Teranga won the trophy thanks to Pape Gueye.
Keep reading
