He promised clarification. A few moments after Senegal’s success against Morocco in the final of the 2025 African Cup of Nations, Ismail Jakobs suggested that the three Senegalese withdrawals on the eve of the final were not the result of chance.
“A lot happened before the match,” said the left back of the Teranga Lions in the mixed zone. “I think a lot of things will come out after the game. You will find out. A lot of things happened to Krépin (Diatta), Ousseynou (Niang) and Pape Matar (Sarr)”, the three elements concerned.
Six days after the events, the Galatasaray defender took action. Guest of the German channel SportDigital, Jakobs said more about the symptoms felt by his teammates, including Diatta, who suffered discomfort during the warm-up and was forced to give up his place in the starting lineup.
“It certainly wasn’t an accident.”
“I can’t say exactly what happened, because I don’t have all the evidence, but I personally suspect that three of our players were poisoned,” said the African champion during an interview broadcast on Saturday.
“It wasn’t just food poisoning with vomiting or anything. These three players really collapsed. It was very scary. All three were unable to get their tongues in. They collapsed. I don’t want to accuse anyone, but it was certainly not an accident,” concluded the German-Senegalese.
Replaced in disaster by Nice’s Antoine Mendy, Krépin Diatta had already lifted part of the veil surrounding his last-minute package with the Senegalese media L’Observateur during the week. “The problem really started when we were leaving for the stadium. I had pain everywhere, my head, a lot of things. It was very strange,” said the AS Monaco player, victim of a blackout and four successive illnesses during the final.
