Gary Lineker has described the crowd trouble during the Africa Cup of Nations final between Senegal and Morocco as 'horribly violent'. The Match of the Day presenter witnessed the unrest at the Stade Prince Moulay Abdallah in Rabat after a controversial penalty decision sparked anger among Senegal supporters.
The incident occurred in stoppage time when Morocco's Brahim Diaz attempted a Panenka penalty, only for Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy to save. The decision to award the penalty infuriated the Senegal contingent, with coach Pape Thiaw instructing his players to leave the pitch while fans tried to invade the playing area. Security officers and police formed a cordon to prevent the pitch invasion.
Lineker, who filmed the scenes, said: 'Not quite sure what I've just seen. For a start, I don't know why VAR got involved, it's a stupid thing to do. Then it all kicked off. They didn't look like they were going to play, they went into the tunnel, then they came back out eventually because of Sadio Mane, who was doing the right thing. It's kicking off in the crowd, the Senegalese fans are obviously deeply upset but it got very horribly violent.'
Papa Gueye scored the winner in extra time to secure Senegal's second AFCON title. Diaz was seen in tears after being substituted and later collected his runners-up medal and golden boot amid jeers. Sadio Mane, captaining Senegal, lifted the trophy in what may be his final international match, having previously ended the nation's 2021 drought with a winning penalty against Egypt.
