AFCON 2025: Senegal Star Slams Brahim Diaz for Attempting Panenka Penalty in Final
- Senegal attacker Iliman Ndiaye has hit out at Brahim Diaz for attempting a Panenka penalty
- Diaz missed the decisive penalty in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final after the match restarted
- Pape Gueye scored with a brilliant strike minutes later to win the trophy for the Teranga Lions
Senegal star Iliman Ndiaye has hit out at Moroccan star Brahim Diaz for attempting a Panenka penalty in the final of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations on January 18, 2026.
The AFCON 2025 final turned chaotic when Pape Thiaw told his players to leave the pitch after referee Jean-Jacques Ndala awarded a penalty to the host nation.
Source: Getty Images
Sadio Mane intervened and appealed to his teammates to return to the pitch after he spoke to Mamadou Niang, Claude Le Roy and El Hadji Diouf.
As noted by Flash Score, Diaz missed the penalty, attempting a Panenka, which Senegalese goalkeeper Edouard Mendy easily collected. Pape Gueye scored minutes later to win it for the Teranga Lions.
Iliman Ndiaye slams Brahim Diaz
Senegalese star Ndiaye, during an interview with Times Sports, admits that he and his teammates were praying for Diaz to miss his penalty, which he did.
“We were just saying he was going to miss. I was praying, saying, ‘He’s going to miss, he’s going to miss.’” he said.
The Everton star added that the Real Madrid winger's choice of the Panenka style felt a bit disrespectful and could have easily gone for a direct approach
“I felt there was a bit of disrespect. I’m not saying he meant to disrespect us, but it was either that, or he wanted to act like a star after everything that had just happened,” he added.
Video of Brahim Diaz’s penalty miss.
“I don’t know if I would have tried it. But you were minutes away from becoming king in your own country. They hadn’t won it in so many years, and all you had to do was take your chance and score.
“So, I don’t understand why he did that, but I’m glad he did. I think after that, we knew we were going to win.”
Ndiaye scored once for Senegal at AFCON, and it was a crucial goal. His lone strike helped the Teranga Lions knock Mali out in the quarter-final and book a semi-final date against Egypt.
Source: Getty Images
CAF suspended Iliman Ndiaye for two official matches for his unsporting behaviour towards referee Ndala during the AFCON final in Rabat.
Fellow Premier League star Ismailia Sarr also received a two-match ban for a similar offence. Moroccan stars Achraf Hakimi and Ismail Saibari got two and three-match bans, respectively.
Diaz clashes with Moroccan teammate
Legit.ng previously reported that Brahim Diaz clashed with his Moroccan international teammate Illias Akhomach during a Spanish La Liga match.
The Real Madrid star had a heated verbal exchange with Akhomach, who plays for Rayo Vallecano, and both had to be separated by their teammates.
Source: Legit.ng
