Claims of agreement with Brahim Diaz over missed penalty? Edouard Mendy responds

Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy has responded to claims suggesting there was an agreement with Moroccan forward Brahim Diaz to deliberately miss the late penalty awarded in the AFCON 2025 final, amid Senegal’s threat to withdraw from the match.

Senegal won the Africa Cup of Nations title after defeating Morocco 1–0 in the final.

Congolese referee Jean-Jacques Ndala awarded a penalty to Morocco in the 90+6 minute following contact between Brahim Dهaz and Malick Diouf, a decision that sparked anger among the Senegalese players, who briefly headed toward the dressing rooms in protest.

After nearly 18 minutes, Senegal returned to the pitch following intervention from Sadio Mané. Diaz then missed the penalty against Edouard Mendy, attempting a Panenka, which was saved by the Senegal goalkeeper.

Following the miss, some claims circulated suggesting the Real Madrid player intentionally failed to convert the golden chance in order to save the AFCON final from being abandoned. Mendy firmly denied those allegations in comments to Canal Plus.

Did Brahim Diaz miss the penalty deliberately?

“Do you really think we could agree on something like that with one minute left, after Morocco waited 50 years?” Mendy said. “Díaz wanted to score, and I tried to save it. That’s all. Let’s put an end to this debate.”

He added: “Some things happened after the penalty was awarded, but in football the most important thing is always winning.”

Mendy concluded by saying: “We gave everything without any cheating. Senegal are the champions of Africa, and we are very happy.”

Senegal secured their second Africa Cup of Nations title in their history, following their first triumph in 2021.

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