AFCON 2025: Video Discloses What Pape Thiaw and Walid Regragui Said Before Senegal Walked Off
- The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final ended in chaos during the final minutes of the normal regulation time
- Senegal head coach Pape Thiaw and Morocco’s coach Walid Regragui have a heated exchange in the technical area
- New footage from the final has disclosed what the managers said to each other before Thiaw walked off the pitch
Footage has emerged online disclosing what Pape Thiaw and Walid Regragui said to each other during the chaotic scenes of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final.
The AFCON 2025 final at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, Morocco, on Sunday, January 18, 2026, ended in a controversial fashion.
Source: Getty Images
Senegal protested by walking off the pitch after referee Jean-Jacques Ndala awarded a penalty to the hosts minutes after wrongfully disallowing Senegal's goal.
Pape Thiaw ordered his players to leave the pitch in protest, but Sadio Mane intervened, and his teammates returned to the pitch to complete the match.
Brahim Diaz missed the resulting penalty, before Pape Gueye scored a brilliant goal four minutes into the additional minutes to give Senegal victory.
The aftermath of the match lingers on as CAF launches an investigation into the incidents. Morocco filed a petition calling for CAF to strip Senegal of the title.
Footage reveals Regragui and Thiaw's conversation
BeIN Sport has shared footage from the AFCON final, disclosing the details of the exchange between Walid Regragui and Pape Thiaw before Senegal walked off.
Walid Regragui: “Wait a minute, Pape!”
Pape Thiaw: “No, no, no… because what happened there (the penalty awarded for Brahim Díaz), that’s not normal!”
Walid Regragui, about the Senegalese wanting to leave the pitch: “But is that normal?”
Pape Thiaw: “And the disallowed goal, is that normal?”
Walid Regragui: “But he blew the whistle before!”
Regragui fires at Thiaw
Regragui, during his post-match conference, hit out at the shameful behaviour of his counterpart despite his attempt to quell things during the fracas.
“The image we’ve given of Africa is shameful, a coach who asks his players to leave the field. What Pape did does not honour Africa,” Regragui said, as quoted by The Guardian.
Source: Getty Images
“He had already started in the [pre-match] press conference. He wasn’t classy. But he is a champion, so he can say whatever he wants. We stopped the match in the eyes of the world for 10 minutes.”
Both coaches are unlikely to coach their teams at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States of America, Mexico and Canada, for different reasons.
Thiaw is expected to receive heavy sanctions, which could affect his presence at the World Cup, while Regragui faces an uncertain future in charge of the Atlas Lions.
What referees told Sadio Mane
Legit.ng previously reported what referees told Sadio Mane after the match for his intervention in restoring calm and order during the chaotic final.
Centre referee Jean-Jacques Ndala, fourth official Abongile Tom and VAR assistant Letticia Viana all thanked the Senegal captain for his leadership.
Source: Legit.ng
