Morocco win AFCON fair play award as shocking footage emerges of Senegal player being tackled to ground by ball boys

Morocco lost in the AFCON final on Sunday in one of the most chaotic matches ever, which even saw ball boys get involved in the fracas.

Brahim Diaz missed a penalty in the 24th minute of added time before Senegal went on to win the title following a few moments of utter madness.

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Things descended into chaos after Senegal incredibly walked off the pitch in protest at the controversial spot-kick being awarded.

Fans bombarded the pitch, forcing police to get involved, with the players arguing among themselves as the mayhem ensued.

But once play eventually got back underway, Diaz wasted the opportunity to win a historic title for his nation.

And Pape Gueye went on to score the winner in extra time, as Senegal came back from the brink to win the Africa Cup of Nations.

Since full-time in the crazy final, further footage has emerged of the remarkable scenes that occurred mid-match.

Shocking video has shown Senegalese back-up goalkeeper Yehvann Diouf having to evade Moroccan ball boys.

The ball boys appeared to be attempting to steal Edouard Mendy’s towel during the game, with Diouf deployed to defend it.

But at one point, the Senegal keeper was tackled to the ground by three of the ball boys and dragged around on the floor.

That all happened with play ongoing, as Mendy can be seen focusing on the match in front of the incident.

Further footage showed Diouf running away from the ball boys, while Moroccan star Ismael Saibari was seen also trying to steal the towel.

Morocco win fair play award

Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi was also involved in the towel throwing against Senegal, trying to steal it during the game too.

Hakimi could be seen trying to hide Mendy’s towel behind the advertising hoardings with the ball boys.

And the Moroccans had also done similar against Nigeria in the semi-final, with ball boys and other members of staff walking onto the pitch to steal the goalkeeper’s towel.

But despite all of the bad-tempered scenes throughout AFCON, it was Morocco that were handed the fair play award.

Article 8 of CAF’s Regulations for the tournament says that ‘a Fair-Play trophy shall be awarded to the team that will have shown the best fair-play spirit during the final phase of the Africa Cup of Nations, in conformity with the CAF Fair-play regulations.’

Senegal will surely not be best pleased with that decision…

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Senegal boss walks out

The bizarre antics that have shrouded the AFCON final later continued in the press conference media room.

Senegal manager Pape Thiaw opted to walk out of his conference after being berated by Moroccan journalists.

He sat down to answer questions, but angry jeers could be heard from the room and he eventually decided to stand up and leave.

Thiaw was also involved in a small on-pitch spat with Morocco boss Walid Regragui following the final.