Senegal vs Morocco: ‘It does not honour Africa’ – Regragui hits out at Pape Thiaw

Beaten after extra time by Senegal (0-1 a.e.t.) on Sunday in a chaotic Africa Cup of Nations final marked by a lengthy interruption, Morocco head coach Walid Regragui strongly criticised the behaviour of his Senegalese counterpart Pape Thiaw during his post-match press conference.

Hoping to win a second African title for the first time since 1976, Morocco were left to wait once again after losing the AFCON 2025 final on home soil to Senegal. For Regragui, the disappointment was difficult to digest. The Morocco coach took aim at Pape Thiaw, who had encouraged his players to walk off the pitch in protest following a penalty awarded to Morocco deep into stoppage time of the second half.

“The image Africa showed today is a bit shameful. When a coach tells his players to leave the pitch… He had already started in the press conference. Good for him,” Regragui initially said, referring to Thiaw’s outspoken comments on the eve of the final about organisational issues raised by Senegal.

Regragui denounces Senegal protest

???? OH MY GOD! Walid Regragui and Pape Thiaw nearly came to blows after the match. ?????

The two managers. ??? pic.twitter.com/SDPWRH4yao
— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Footballtweet) January 18, 2026

“As I said, in the end you always have to remain classy, in defeat as well as in victory. What Pape did tonight does not honour Africa. It was not classy, but it does not matter, he is African champion so he has the right to say whatever he wants. We stopped the match in front of the whole world for at least ten minutes,” Regragui continued.

The Moroccan coach also revealed that he had several heated exchanges with Thiaw following the incident. Speaking more broadly on M6, he added: “From the start of the tournament, it was unhealthy. It is a shame,” in reference to accusations of favourable officiating for the hosts throughout the competition.

Regragui defends Brahim Diaz after missed penalty

Regragui also moved to defend Brahim Diaz, who missed the penalty that followed the interruption and could have secured a second AFCON title for Morocco.

“I think there was a lot of time before he took the penalty, and that must have disturbed him. The interruption did not help Brahim. That is not an excuse for how he took it, but we are not going to go back now, that is how he struck it,” the coach concluded.

As a sign of the lingering tensions, Pape Thiaw’s post-match press conference could not be completed due to altercations between journalists.

This article was originally published on Afrik Foot.