Brahim Diaz on AFCON final penalty miss: “I take full responsibility”

The fallout continues to grow from a controversial 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final on Sunday and Morocco star Brahim Díaz is at the center of discussion after his disastrous penalty kick attempt cost the hosts dearly against newly-crowned champions Senegal.

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Panenka stopped! Brahim Díaz fails to beat the keeper#TotalEnergiesAFCON2025 #UBCAFCON2025 pic.twitter.com/bpBkmbKSyg

— UBC UGANDA (@ubctvuganda) January 18, 2026

The Real Madrid playmaker had an opportunity to win the match in the final moments after he was dragged down in the penalty area by Senegal left back El Hadji Malick Diouf. Following a long VAR review that resulted in the controversial decision of referee Abongile Tom to award a penalty kick to the Atlas Lions, Senegal threatened to abandon the match before Díaz attempted a “Panenka” penalty that went horribly wrong and was saved by Senegal goalkeeper Édouard Mendy.

“Yesterday I failed and I take full responsibility,” Díaz reflected a day after the emotional defeat in comments recorded by The Guardian. “I apologise from the bottom of my heart. It will be hard for me to recover, because this wound doesn’t heal easily … but I will try. Not for myself, but for everyone who believed in me and for everyone who suffered with me. I will keep going forward until one day I can give you all this love back and become a source of pride for my Moroccan people.”

“My soul hurts,” Díaz added. “I dreamed of this title thanks to all the love you all gave me, every message, every show of support that made me feel I wasn’t alone. I fought with everything I had, with my heart above all else.

Morocco went on to lose the match after Senegal midfielder Pape Gueye completed a dramatic turnaround by scoring the winning goal early in extra time. The controversial final set in motion a series of events and post-match drama that brought African football worldwide attention for the wrong reasons.

Physical and verbal confrontations ensued at the post-match press conference, which was prematurely cancelled soon after comments from Morocco coach Walid Regragui. The Royal Moroccan Football Federation announced its intent to submit appeals to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and FIFA due to the initial walk-off of the Senegalese team. “He had a lot of time before taking the penalty which must have disturbed him,” Regragui said.

The penalty miss spoiled an otherwise excellent tournament for Díaz, who finished as the Golden Boot winner with five goals from seven matches. Sunday’s defeat denied Morocco their first AFCON title since the 1976 edition, marking their second defeat in an AFCON final after previously falling to 2004 hosts Tunisia at the final step.